Beast of Hueco Mundo
by Sunal
Summary: During his rescue of Orihime, Ichigo is forced to fight a Vasto Lorde and fatally wounded. To survive, he must go where no Shinigami or Vizard has ever gone or dared to go. What awaits our orange-haired hero? Love, battle, and insanity.
1. Chapter 1: Encountering the Beast

This is an idea I've been entertaining for a while: what would happen if a Shinigami or Vizard consumed a Hollow's or Arrancar's spiritual pressure. If anyone else has this idea, I'm sorry and no plagiarism was intended.

I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so. That honor is exclusively Tite Kubo's.

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Hueco Mundo, a desolate land of sand dunes as far as the eye can see, populated only by Hollows, creatures of pure instinct for destruction and death. The only feature breaking the monotony is a large white palace: Las Noches, the headquarters of Sosuke Aizen and his Espada. Approximately three days from the palace is a small band of highly unlikely travelers.

Two are humans, but not normal humans. One, Chad, possesses superhuman strength and durability, capable of withstanding a falling steel beam with only a annoyed "ow" in response. The other, Uryu Ishida, is a Quincy, who fires arrows of spirit particles, utterly destroying their target upon impact, and with potent accuracy.

Two are Shinigami: Rukia Kuchiki, a petite raven-haired girl with a fiery disposition and ice-cold, serious battle skills; and Renji Abarai, a crimson-haired man with a cocky attitude but formidable martial abilities.

Three are Arrancar, Hollows that have gained the abilities of Shinigami by removing their masks. One is Nel, a small child with a cartoonish skull atop her head with a reddish mark beneath her eyes and a very adult vocabulary. The others are her two "brothers"(?) Pesche, a humanoid with an insect-like mask and a loincloth, and Dondochakka, donned (clad?) in polka dots and a tiki mask.

The final two are the strangest of the whole band. The first is obvious: Bawabawa, an eel-like Hollow with a mask on his head like a helmet. The other is not as obvious (more subtle?), Ichigo Kurosaki, a human in Shinigami robes with orange colored hair.

However strange these travelers are, they have two things in common. First, they are here to rescue a girl, Orihime, from Aizen and his Arrancar army.

Second, they are in very deep trouble. They are on the edge of a sinkhole created by Runuganga, Guardian of the White Sands, and cannot escape.

"Damn it!" yelled Ichigo as he stood up and readied his zanpakutou to attack. "Here goes nothing! Getsuga Tensh-whoa-whoa-whoa-WHOOOAAAA!" Just as he prepared to launch his attack, Bawabawa, the Hollow that the group was riding on buckled and Ichigo fell off into the sinkhole.

"Ichigo!" everyone yelled and tried in vain to grab him before he fell, but all they could do was watch as Ichigo was swallowed by the sinkhole. "NOOO!" yelled Nel while Renji and Rukia ground their teeth and clenched their fists in frustration. This did not last very long before Uryu yelled out "Hold on everyone!" as the sand swallowed them up as well.

The next thing the group noticed was them coming out of the sand and falling through what appeared to be a forest canopy. After that, they felt a LOT of pain, as they landed on the forest floor. Some, Rukia, Nel, and Chad had the good fortune to fall through a series of branches before landing. Pesche and Renji were lucky enough to land on Bawabawa instead of the hard floor.

Uryu, was the most lucky, as his mantle was caught by a branch and allowed him to slide down the tree. Dondochakka, on the other hand, was the least fortunate, as he happened to land first before anyone else, and on the exact spot the exact spot where Bawabawa, Renji, and Pesche landed. As a result, the next thing everyone remembered was a very long, loud "**OW!**" from below them.

A few minutes later after everyone got back to their feet and dusted themselves off, they had a look around. "Interesting, these trees are the same as the ones growing aboveground" noted Uryu. "That means that the trees growing aboveground are really extensions of these trees." "They reach all the way up there? Incredible." voiced Rukia in awe.

Their moment of awe was cut short by the sound of three whimpering Arrancar. "Hey what's wrong?" Chad asked. "This-this-this is the...Menos Forest!" Nel answered with a whimper in her voice and tears in her eyes. "The Menos Forest. I'm guessing that this is where a lot of Hollows, including Menos live." Rukia said.

"I have to agree with you Rukia" Uryu said. "I think that the Arrancar and Espada live aboveground while the Adjuchas and lesser level Hollows live down here. This is trouble. Wen we were falling, I sensed the presence of several Gillian-class Hollows."

"How many Gillians?" Rukia asked, somewhat fearful of the answer. "It was very faint, but I felt as least a dozen." Uryu answered. "Which means we have to get outta here as fast as possible" Renji inputed. "The longer we wait, the greater the chance that Hollows will eventually find us, and we can't fight them all." "Don't forget about Itsygo!" Nel cried out. "Don't worry Ne;, we'll find him BEFORE we leave" Rukia said in as kind a voice as she could. "And it's ICHIGO, not ITSYGO!" she added, her voice lsoing most of its kindness and replaced by a cold fury of annoyance.

"Well, let's get going. Bawabawa?" Pesche said as the eel-shaped Hollow crawled over and waited for everyone to climb on. "Now, let's go."

Meanwhile, in a very different part of the forest, Ichigo was just coming back to consciousness when he felt THE largest spiritual pressure he had ever felt. He recalled when he first met Kenpachi Zaraki, the fight-crazy captain of Squad Eleven. His spiritual pressure was enough to knock him down to the ground. Now, Kenpachi's spiritual pressure felt like a light soothing massage compared to what this pressure felt like. THIS spiritual pressure would have scared the crap right out of Aizen, the traitor who blocked Ichigo's Bankai with just a finger.

After the pressure came a long, barking laugh, very similar to what a person would hear from a hyena at the zoo or those wildlife documentaries. Sure enough, when Ichigo looked to the source of the sound, the first impression he got was that of a hyena. The creature was humanoid in shape, with a stocky build, covered in reddish tan fur and black spots. The creature's hands and forearms were encased in metallic gauntlets, with talons for fingers. The feet and legs were similar, albeit shaped like a hyena, and it stood on its toes like a hyena. To finish it all off, the neck was long and thick, and topped with a red-eyed white hyena head.

When the creature opened it's mouth, that long barking laugh came out again. Then it spoke. "What have we here? A poor lost Shinigami?" When it spoke, it had a female's voice, and it had a bark to it, like the laughter that signaled her arrival.

'So, this is the source of that massive spiritual pressure' Ichigo thought as he struggled to get up. 'Now what do we do now? Fight? Run?'

'How about imagine her in a wet t-shirt with really short shorts and a human's face?' Hichigo, Ichigo's inner hollow suggested with a perverted chuckle. 'Uh not HELPING!' Ichigo responded though he could not help noticing the Hollow's well endowed bust, which rivaled Kukaku's or Yoruichi's in size and seemed to defy gravity.

"Tsk tsk tsk. It doesn't matter what you do, though I must say that last thought of yours is quite intriguing," she said much to Ichigo's surprise. 'Can she read my mind?' he thought with fascination and terror. "Yes I can, which is why it does not matter what you do. But, I'm a nice girl, so I'll let you decide on how to die." She responded with a bark of laughter.

"Very well. I am Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami, and I'll fight, but I WON"T die!" Ichigo said with defiance and a massive surge in spiritual pressure.

"Ha ha ha. All right. I guess this will be fun, so I'll give you my name," the Hollow said as she took an attack stance. "I am Hiena Carnear, Vasto Lorde, and the Beast of Hueco Mundo!"

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Author's Notes: I am aiming for Ichigo to have a harem in this story. If there are any girls you'd like to see in this harem please review and let me know.


	2. Chapter 2: Revelation

Again, I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to. Tite Kubo is the only one who can.

Ichigo drew his zanpakutou, Zangetsu, and waited for Hiena to attack. He did not have to wait long, as she appeared right behind him and punched out. Although he managed to block the attack, he found himself flying over thirty meters through a tree. As he pulled himself up, he saw the damage that Hiena had done and thought 'Oh shit.'

"Exactly what you should be thinking right now" Hiena said with a chuckle as she punched and hit this time in the gut. As Ichigo was thrown back across the forest he coughed and tasted blood. He also found his stomach heaving and very nearly vomited.

It was fortunate that he managed to fight down that particular urge for at that moment Hiena attacked again, with a kick this time. However, Ichigo managed to parry the kick and deliver a punch of his own right into her gut,sending her flying into a tree herself...

...And his hand into a world of pain. As he looked down he found that his knuckles were bleeding, and felt that his fingers were almost broken. 'Ah shit, and that's my GOOD hand' Ichigo thought as he looked to his opponent, who just got to her feet... and looked like nothing had happened.

"DOUBLE SHIT!' Ichigo thought and Hiena grinned like Kenpachi and said "I take back what I said. This won't be any fun at all." and vanished again.

'Not good, but I think I have her figured' he thought. 'So far she's only attacked with her left side. I guess that means she's left-handed. So, the next time she attacks, it'll be with her left hand or foot.' and for the first time since he arrived he grinned. 'It doesn't matter that I can't see her, as long as I can anticipate her moves. I got her!'

Ichigo attempted to block, only to get hit by her RIGHT hand, bypassing his defenses, and landing another blow. She hit him in the ribs instead of the gut, throwing Ichigo into the tree and shattering his ribs.

'Damn, I thought I had her figured. I thought..' then Ichigo realized his mistake. "Exactly!" Hiena said as she looked him over. "You were right in your train of thought. As long as you can anticipate your opponents' moves, speed and power don't matter."

"But you're different." Ichigo said bitterly. "You can read minds, which means you know whatever plans I try to make, and can react differently" "And it doesn't matter if you try to anticipate everything" she continued. "You can only think of one or a few things at a time, which means any attempt to anticipate my actions are futile. And don't think about trying not to think. A person can't help BUT think, no matter what their situation may be. Even the most bored or sensory-deprived person thinks."

Then she flashed out of sight and reappeared to Ichigo's side. "And it's not just thoughts that go through your mind. Emotions also occupy a role in the mind. So even if you manage to minimize your thinking, I can read your intent just as easily through your emotions." she said as she prepared to strike. "For instance, you are scared, so you will try to block or dodge." She lashed out, but instead of a fist, she struck with an open claw, grabbing Zangetsu, pulling it to the side, and lashing at Ichigo's gut with a palm attack, piercing his abdomen and drawing blood.

Ichigo first grabbed his stomach and tried to control his bleeding while trying to wrestle control of Zangetsu from Hiena. "Now here, you're angry, so you'll try to attack or do something to hurt me, which is just what you are doing now." With that she let go and Ichigo fell over onto the ground, right on his broken ribs. "So, all in all, nothing you do can stop me." she finished as she watched Ichigo struggle to stand up.

Concurrent with the battle, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was abuzz with activity as they picked up the reiatsu bursts of the ongoing battle. "Captain! We have an identification on the combatants!" Akon and Rin called from their positions. Mayuri leaned down, avid excitement and fascination fixed on his face, with his ever-present "daughter" Nemu standing beside him.

"Oh, and who might it be?" he asked as he looked at the screen... and for the first time in his time as a Captain, felt his eyes widen by at least a factor of two. Even with his make-up on, his subordinates noticed the change. "Print up these results immediately. And Nemu, call up the captains for a meeting to discuss these results. And don't dawdle!" he ordered as he turned to leave.

"Yes sir." Nemu said as she went to the communications console and called the captains. "Attention, all captains. We have received new intelligence regarding the situation in Hueco Mundo and are calling a meeting. Assemble immediately for a meeting. Lieutenant Nemu signing out."

A few minutes later the Captains gathered and looked over the new intelligence. The first to break the silence was Captain Jushiro Ukitake. "We can't allow this battle to continue. We HAVE to get Ichigo out of there." "I agree." Shunsui Kyoraku concurred. "We need Ichigo alive."

"I don't see what the big deal is." Kenpachi said. "It's Ichigo. Don't forget everything that kid's been through. I mean what is the big deal." Surprisingly, the next one to speak was Byakuya Kuchiki. "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Captain Zaraki. Just who or what is Hiena Carnear?" "I was just thinking the same thing." Soifon inputed. "In all my years I've never heard of this Hiena."

"That's because we never allowed that information to be distributed." Sotaicho Yamamoto said grimly. "But I think it's time to let that secret out." Retsu Unohana said before Yamamoto could continue. "I agree." Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku said simultaneously. Yamamoto, seeing any attempt at argument would be futile gave in and began his explanation.

"Hiena Carnear is a Vasto Lorde, one of the few known to exist, and one of, if not THE, most dangerous in Hueco Mundo." he started with an air of grim sadness. "She not only possesses the generic abilities of a Vasto Lorde, but also other abilities, like her combat skill, and most importantly, telepathy." This last piece of information took the captains all by surprise.

"She can read minds?" Zaraki asked, half in awe, half in excitement. "Of course she can read minds you barbarian dolt!" Mayuri snapped. "What else could it mean?" "Well, sorry, but I was taken by surprise. It can happen to all of us, even you." Zaraki responded. "Enough, both of you." Byakuya asserted calmly but firmly, never losing his aristocratic composure. "Please continue Sotaicho"

"As I was saying, Hiena is telepathic, which combined with her skills and natural abilities makes her nearly invincible." Yamamoto explained. "Ever since she appeared, three centuries ago, she has plagued the Soul Society with her depredations. We once sent the entire Onmitsukidou and a team made of the elite of six whole Squads to capture or exorcise her. Over six hundred in total. Myself, Unohana, Ukitake, and Kyoraku led the attempt ourselves. Only WE survived, BARELY."

All the captains took a moment to digest this new piece of information: the oldest and strongest Captains in the Soul Society, along with six hundred Shinigami, all elite, could not defeat this ONE Hollow. Or survive.

The resulting silence held for what seemed like hours before someone managed to break it. "We have to get Ichigo out." Unohana said, with a faint pleading in her voice. "We have to save him. We CAN'T afford to lose him."

Other Captains, particularly Ukitake, Kyoraku, Zaraki, and Toshiro, shared Unohana's position, but before they could get into serious debate regarding Ichigo's situation, Yamamoto put his cane down(literally) and firmly said "As much as I want to save Ichigo, we cannot afford to split our forces, especially in the face of the upcoming war with Aizen. After our mass attempt to defeat her, Central 46 declared her to be off-limits and any Shinigami, Substitute or otherwise, who encounters her is to be considered 'disposable'."

With that, the meeting was considered closed, and the Captains went back to the pre-arranged plan for stopping Aizen. For two of the Captains, however, the matter was far from closed. "I still think that we should sent support to Ichigo." Unohana continued. "If not to help him fight, then to get him away."

"You heard the Sotaicho, we can't split our forces." Soifon replied. "Out of curiosity, why are you so concerned for his well-being? I mean other Shinigami have been lost to Hiena, and you've always taken it well."

"I'm just tired of losing Shinigami to the Beast." Unohana replied. "Ichigo, in particular, would be a tremendous loss. I mean he's so strong and has so much potential. Such a waste." Under her breath, she muttered, "and he's such a fine man."

"Oh how is he such a "fine man"?" Soifon inquired, her curiosity piqued. Unohana blushed slightly, surprised that Soifon heard her comment. "I mean, he's a criminal. You DO remember that he invaded the Seireitei, assaulted three Lieutenants, and fought two Captains, disrupting the peace, all to save a condemned criminal." she continued, giving Unohana a heavy heart and a small admiring smile at the same time.

"Yes, I DO remember. And that's what I'm talking about." Unohana answered. "Despite huge odds against him and the inherent risks, he braved it all to save a friend. How is that not unlike a Shinigami Captain's greatest attributes? And do not forget some good did come out of his actions. We learned of Aizen's treachery, and stopped an unjust murder. Some could argue that we owe Ichigo."

For a moment, both were silent as they digested each others arguments, and both thought of the orange-haired Shinigami in a different way. Unohana admired the boy for his courage, loyalty, determination, and his strength. However, as of late, these feelings of admiration were evolving into something else, something greater. Mysteriously, Unohana had not coupled with a man for well over two centuries, despite having a huge selection of potential suitors. The primary reason for her refusal was her strict criteria for a suitor: power, kindness, steadfastness, and courage.

Most of the eligible suitors that would be available in her rank, she still refused for a variety of reasons. Most of them were not interested in romance or love, either because of emotions, like Kuchiki, or ambitions, like Aizen, Tousen, and Kenpachi. Others were preoccupied, like Ukitake and his illness that was killing him slowly, Kyoraku, with his constant womanizing, and Hitsugaya, who already had at least one woman, and she did not think the little guy could handle anymore.

Ultimately, she knew that none of them would ever be able to meet her expectations. Her bar of expectation was so high that even she doubted that she would ever find someone who was as far above her as the moon above the Earth. But her deepest held secret was that she wanted to indulge in her private fantasies of being helpless against a stronger man, specifically BDSM games.

The first time she saw Ichigo in action, there, at last, she saw a man who was not only handsome, brave, and loyal, but had the potential to completely outclass her. From that moment on, she and so many others were smitten by the boy.

At the same time, Soifon was thinking about the orange-haired Shinigami. Recalling how easily he defeated three Lieutenants, including hers, and how he held his own against Captain Kuchiki, she felt a flush of attraction pass through her.

This took her completely off-guard because when she first encountered him, she thought of him only as a criminal invader. Since then, and particularly since the revelation of Aizen's treachery, she found herself admiring the boy. However, it was merely admiration, for she still remained suspicious of Ichigo and scorned him for his lack of respect and obedience regarding Yamamoto.

Now, though she found herself reevaluating her opinions. What she first perceived as disrespect, she grew to think of as courage. Cockiness for confident determination. Criminal activities for bravery and loyalty to the extreme. And his refusal to comply with Yamamoto's orders as simply following his convictions. So, naturally, she found these attributes attractive, including his ever-growing power and good looks.

'Maybe, I need to get over Yoruichi-sama, and get a real life.' she thought as she departed Unohana and headed for her position. 'I hope he survives the Beast.'


	3. Chapter 3: Taste of Victory

Again, I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to.

It had been over half an hour since the fight began, and Ichigo was well and truly beat up. In addition to the hole in his stomach and his shattered ribs, his right arm had been broken in six places, his left Achilles tendon was torn in two, and more than a quarter of his blood was lost.

In contrast, Hiena did not receive so much as a scratch. Not only was she very fast, extremely strong, and telepathic, but she seemed to possess a natural armor under her fur. This supposed armor was very tough because every time Ichigo landed a blow, he did more damage to himself than to her, as his bleeding hands could testify.

Right now, he was laying on the floor in pain, his back shredded and bleeding non-stop from when she sent him skidding across the Forest floor. Hiena was standing over him, with disappointment written all over her face. "And here I thought I would have some fun." she said. "Even Aizen's Arrancar soldiers were more fun, and they were fifty times weaker than you. But now, it's time to end this." and with that she drew her right forearm up and what appeared to be a fang emerged from her elbow, followed by a blade on her arm, shaped like three shark dorsal fins in a row but leaning back towards the elbow.

She leaned down, prepared to bring her blade down on Ichigo, and struck...only to find Ichigo gone. At the last moment, Ichigo used Flash Step to escape and get behind her, where he noticed a line of spikes bordered by black stripes on either side down her back and a stubby tail with a tuft of spikes on the end. Using what may have been the last of his strength, he drew Zangetsu, now in its Bankai form, and stabbed Hiena from behind through the heart.

Now it was his turn to be surprised. Not only did he managed to surprise Hiena and get behind her, but he also managed to pierce her fur and stab her through. For the second time since the fight began, he smiled...only to lose it when Hiena laughed, slashed his stomach with her tail spikes, and turned around to face him. "Nice. Very, VERY nice." she said while laughing, her laughter growing louder and more maniacal. "That's the first time I've been surprised since old man Yamamoto and his group fought me. And the first time EVER that I've been successfully stabbed. However, you missed." and she pulled Zangetsu out, lifted her fur up with it, and revealed her Hollow hole. "THAT, Ichigo, is the reason you could stab me, because it's my hole, and my Hierro doesn't need to cover it. Oh well, nice try."

After that, she knee-kicked Ichigo, but not before revealing another fang-like protrusion from her knee, piercing his stomach again, and sending him into a ridge, where he felt two more ribs break. He screamed in agony as he strained to stand up and see his opponent, and saw her crouching for a mighty leap, and it was just that. When she had kicked Ichigo, he was thrown over fifty meters, and she covered that distance with minimal effort.

Realizing that he was in big trouble, Ichigo put on his Hollow mask just as she was about to land and Flash stepped out of the way. When she landed, he punched her in the gut, and this time, she doubled over in pain while he felt almost none. Recognizing his success, he attacked once, twice, thrice more in quick succession, all of which gave her more pain and he more glee.

After getting over the last few rounds, Hiena stood up and looked up at Ichigo...only to be struck dumb at what she saw. Instead of his face, she saw his shite, black striped, skull-like Hollow mask, and was scared for the first time she could remember. She flashed out for an attack, and reappeared above Ichigo for an attack by her blades, only to be stopped by his hands. In desperation, she tried to read his mind, but all she could make out was bliss and the thrill of the fight.

"What's wrong? Why don't you read my mind?" Ichigo asked, his voice seeming to echo, as he pulled her in and launched another brutal round of punches and kicks. "You can't, can you? Is it because I'm a Vizard? Or is it because I'm happy?" and with that last question, he kicked her into the same ridge she had kicked him into earlier. When she tried to stand up, it was clear that she had broken some of her ribs, and she found herself bleeding above the eye.

"Yes, that's it, isn't it?" Ichigo went on as he drew up Zangetsu and took a stance. "When you're happy, you don't think about anything but what makes you happy. When you fight, you're usually scared, angry, or uncertain, and so you instinctively and reflexively think of things to do. But when you're happy, you don't do that, so your actions can't be anticipated. Which means, your telepathy is useless.".

With that, Ichigo charged, holding Zangetsu parallel to the ground at chest level. Hiena drew her arm blades and prepared to intercept Ichigo. Just as their weapons were about to make contact Ichigo leaned back and to the right, drew Zangetsu to a steeper level, and thrust into Hiena's Hollow hole, piercing her through the lung and the left shoulder, and pulling down on the sword, cutting through her body.

Amazingly, Hiena did not scream in pain or fear, but actually smiled. "Looks like I met my match, Ichigo Kurosaki." she said calmly. "It was fun though. Just promise me something: DON"T DIE TO ANYONE WEAKER THAN ME!" she finished as she collapsed to the floor. At that moment, Ichigo's mask shattered, and he also collapsed, the full extent of his injuries catching up with him.

'Looks like I might be here longer than I hoped' Ichigo half-jokingly thought. 'Or you might be leaving sooner than you think.' he heard Hichigo say. 'What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked irritated. 'Listen King, you are dying and you are looking at your sole hope for survival: Hiena. If you put the mask back on, you can eat her reiatsu before she disappears.'

"WHAT?' Ichigo thought disgusted at what his horse was suggesting. 'If I do that, I may become a Hollow and start killing everything around me!' 'And if you don't, you'll simply bleed to death or be eaten by another Hollow. Scratch that, it won't happen, because I'll possess you and do it anyway. So either way you slice it, you'll do it. The only difference is whether you do it or I.' "All right I'll do it. ANYTHING is better than letting you on the loose.' Ichigo responded as he put the mask on and crawled over to Hiena's vanishing body.

"Here goes nothing." Ichigo said as he opened up and bit down on her body, letting the reiatsu flood into his body. As the reiatsu enter him, he felt better than he had ever felt before. Almost immediately, he felt his wounds closing up, his bones reassemble themselves, his vision returned to normal, and his head stopped spinning. He also tasted the most delicious thing in his life. Hiena's reiatsu was as rich as the finest wine and twice as heavy, sweeter than strawberries dipped in chocolate and glazed with honey and sugar, and more filling than the most expensive and most calorie laden cakes.

'Oh Kami. Oh KAMIIIII!' Ichigo thought as he feasted on Hiena's reiatsu. Soon, his wounds were all healed as though there had never been a fight, but still they ate. He ate, and ate, and ate, and ate until he was so full, he could barely even move. Shortly afterward, Hiena's corpse disappeared completely and he heard voices calling out to him: "ICHIGOOO!" "ITSYGOOO!" Although still stuffed from eating the reiatsu, Ichigo managed to answer "Here I am!" and soon he saw Rukia and the others riding Bawabawa coming over the ridge.

Though he soon wished he hadn't answered so soon, because the next thing he knew was that something small and green wrapped its little arms around his neck and bear-hugged him. "ITSYGOOOO! We were so worried about you!" It screamed out, in a lisping child's voice. "It's great to see you too, but, Nel, could you please let me go." Ichigo managed to say in a strangled voice. TO his relief, Rukia and Renji managed to pry her arms off of his throat and pull him up to his feet. "I'm sorry but could we rest a while? I just had a really big fight and I'm exhausted." Ichigo said while wobbling over to Bawabawa. Rukia and Chad were quick to answer: "All right. Whenever you feel ready Ichigo.".

Nel, Uryu, and the Arrancar, however, soon responded. "We shouldn't hang around too long. The longer we stay, the greater the chance that we'll be found by other Hollows." "He's right. We should get going as soon as we can." "Don't worry, I'll only be a minute, two tops." Ichigo answered and thought 'Now I can figure out what the side effects of eating a Hollow's reiatsu will be.'

'Now there I can help you Kingy.' Hichigo said. 'When you gorged yourself on her reiatsu, you gained more than enough to heal your wounds. Hell, what you ate could have resurrected you five times over. Now, you have plenty of surplus, which will do two things now. First, you can integrate some into your own reiatsu and use it as your own to gain boosts to things like strength, speed, etc. The rest will react with me, your Hollow, and will alter my attributes, which will show when you go Vizard form.'

'What kind of attributes are we talking about?' Ichigo asked, a hint of apprehension regarding the answer in his voice. 'I'm not gonna turn into a girl or...?' he trailed off not daring to finish that thought.

'No no no King. Don't worry.' Hichigo reassured. 'If that happened, all higher level Hollows would be transgender, and as Grimmjow can testify, that's not what happens. I'm talking about my power levels, special abilities, and overall appearance. In my first form, I looked like a humanoid lizard, with three-clawed feet, a long tapered tail, and sharp fingernails. After the reiatsu finishes reacting though, I'm sure I'll look rather different. I don't know, but I'm sure I'll look much better.'

'Did I hear you right? You looked like a LIZARD? And you don't know what changes will happen to me?'

'Yeah, you heard me right, King. But I do know one thing: you have to lay off using the mask for a short while. The reiatsu reaction is a little chaotic, and if you use the mask, it'll be like taking a cap off a bottle of soda too quickly.'

'Uncontrolled overflow huh? And that would probably be disastrous to the others. So when can I use the mask?'

"I don't know King, but I'll let you know when it's time. Meanwhile, you can use the available extra reiatsu for bonuses to get by.'

'All right. Just let me know as soon as I can use the mask. I'm kinda curious as to what my new abilities are.'

'That's the spirit King!'

"All right, let's go." Ichigo said and got up on Bawabawa, soon followed by the others. "But how are we gonna get outta here?" Uryu asked, but was soon answered by an unanticipated arrival from a man wearing run-down Shinigami robes and a antelope skull Hollow mask. "I'm Ashida Kano. I've lived in this forest for centuries and I know EVERY bit of it, including how to get you out." he said as he pointed in a direction. "How do we know you're not trying to trick us?" Uryu demanded, his Quincy ancestry leaving him suspicious of the Shinigami. "You can either trust me or stay here and try to figure it out yourself." Ashida bluntly responded. "I'm going with the first one." Renji and Rukia said simultaneously.

As they moved in the direction specified by Ashida, they encountered no resistance from the resident Hollows. Half an hour, an hour, finally ninety minutes passed and still no resistance, leaving them increasingly on their guard. Eventually, they came to a crevice where Ashida said "Just go through there, follow the tunnel, and you be back on the surface." but a loud voice pronounced "And here's where your journey ends" and a huge, 70 meter tall, centipede-like Hollow emerged from behind them, along with at least two hundred Hollows.

"I am Ciempies, Adjuchas, and the last thing you will ever see!" boomed the giant Hollow, but no sooner had he made that announcement that Ichigo leaped up, moving so quickly it created a sonic boom. Ciempies only had time to make an expression of bafflement before he was stabbed him... right between the eyes! It did not end there though, as Ichigo pulled down and bifurcated the Hollow right down the middle.

This latest development took everyone by surprise, so much that the group and even the Hollows were frozen. It was only when Ichigo screamed out "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? NOW'S OUR CHANCE!" as he Flash stepped back on Bawabawa and they are bolted for the crevice. Just as they made it to the crevice though a giant hand tried to grab them. Ichigo stood up to attack, but he was beaten to it by Ashida, who jumped off Bawabawa and sliced the hand off. However, the attack and the following roar of the now one-handed Gillian threatened to collapse the crevice in top of the group. Making matters worse was the upcoming arrival of more Gillians.

"Go on! I'll fend them off!" Ashida yelled out before running to confront the Hollows. Rukia tried to grab him but the crevice collapsed before she could reach him. "HANG IN THERE! I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU!" Rukia yelled out as the group headed down the tunnel.

Well that's chapter 3. Please read and review.


	4. Chapter 4: Questions

Again, I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to.

The group emerged from the ground, and saw the palace of Las Noches, only much larger than they remembered. They realized that they must have gotten a LOT closer to the palace, and were briefly elated. "Well, we got here. Now how do we get in?" Renji inquired. "I can't find a door or window or anything."

"I guess we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way." Ichigo responded. "Brute force." he answered to a puzzled look from the group. "WAIT! There's no need for that!" Nel cried out, she pointed in a particular direction. "There's an entryway just three days in that direction." "We can't wait three days." Ichigo responded. "Aizen probably knows we're here thanks to his sandman friend. Since we lost the advantage of stealth, we'll have to compensate with speed." and with that he turned to the wall, readied a fist and punched the wall...and a massive hole about three meters wide and four meters tall appeared, which continued for at least thirty meters deeper in, and was surrounded by cracks that extended for 20 meters in each direction.

'Wow!' Ichigo thought to himself. 'And I STILL feel a lot of surplus. I wonder just HOW much more powerful I'll become.'

"Who are you and what have you done to the REAL Ichigo?" Hichigo asked, amazement in his voice. "I mean, you NEVER were this keen to try out new-found power, and you NEVER showed off your power. You've always kept it hidden as a trump card."

'I'm just trying my new power out to see what my limits are.' Ichigo responded. 'That way when I go up against Aizen and the rest of the Espada, I'll have an effective strategy, or at least good tactics. Though I must admit that this power does feel good. And I know the perfect guinea pigs to try them out on.'

"OK, now you sound a bit more like the Ichigo I know." Hichigo said, his amazement replaced by pride. "And I must say I'm impressed by, and proud of, the changes you've exhibited. And it's a good thing that you've brought up the topics of new abilities cause I got a newsflash for you."

'Well don't keep it to yourself, horsey.' Ichigo said with a subtle though noticeable smugness in his voice. "All right, Kingy." Hichigo started, sounding even more proud and not the least bit hurt. "The reaction is still too chaotic for the mask, but it's settled down enough for your Hollow abilities."

'Wait, how could I use my Hollow powers without the mask.' Ichigo asked. "The mask is really a kind of limit remover." Hichigo answered. "Noticed how tired you get after using the mask? That's because when you use the mask, ALL of your spiritual pressure is released. That spiritual pressure that you normally don't have access to is your acquired Hollow power. But now, the mask is not as effective a seal as it once was. So now some of that spiritual pressure is leaking out and mixing with your own."

'So now, I'm part Hollow?' Ichigo asked, concern and fascination evident in his voice.

"Don't worry King, it's not like that." Hichigo quickly reassured. "You were ALWAYS part Hollow, and there was always SOME 'contamination' of your spiritual pressure. This is just a little more. As long as you stay strong and don't give me a reason to possess you, you'll be fine. Capice?"

'Capice.' Ichigo answered, reassured and even more eager to learn. "All right, here's the deal." Hichigo continued. "You get use use Hierro, natural armor, Cero, energy attack, Bala, a weaker but faster form of Cero, and a primitive form of telepathy. You can't read minds, but you can sense emotions and intentions. You also get regeneration, as long as you're not under stress and it's not very fast. That's it for the time being, plus your increased speed and power. I'll keep you updated."

'OK.' Ichigo responded as he grinned to himself as he turned to the group, and almost fell over laughing. Everyone, even Bawabawa, was starring at Ichigo and the damage he did to the wall, mouths wide open and eyes bugging out. "Uh guys, this is not really the best time to be doing impressions." Ichigo said to them in a half irritated, half amused voice. "But for the record, great look for guppy fish at feeding time." That quickly brought everyone back to reality, and in some cases, fists into Ichigo's face.

"And this is not the time for lame JOKES either!" Rukia angrily responded as her fist landed on Ichigo's nose. "But before we go on, I think you need to tell us where you got this new power." she continued, the anger in her voice replaced by a fearful curiosity. "Sorry Rukia, but I can't answer that right now." Ichigo answered regretfully. "The answer is a very long story, one that we don't have time for. But I promise, once we're done here, I will tell you. ALL of you, since you deserve to know." he said, with sincerity on his promise and finality on his assertion on his face.

The group started walking down the passage created by Ichigo's punch, admiring his handiwork and wondering the same questions: 'Where did he get this power?' and 'How much more powerful will he become?'

Rukia in particular was troubled by the recent events regarding Ichigo. For a long time, she felt her feelings regarding Ichigo growing deeper and deeper, though no one would know from watching them fight. This deepening of her feelings increased in recent times, especially in the face of how he rescued her from the execution and attempted to stop Aizen from escaping, the last one making her forgive him for throwing her.

In the face of his recent changes, however, she found herself beginning to worry about the orange-haired hot-head. He was not just stronger and faster than ever before, but she sensed that he was changing in his personality as well. While he always did get into fights, Ichigo never really started them, or was provoked when he did. Now, he seemed eager to find not only Orihime but also the Espada and Aizen...or TOO eager.

'Maybe it's just a phase.' she thought, trying to reassure herself. 'Maybe he's just looking for his limits. Maybe he's been around Zaraki for too long, for his father for that matter.' the last thought brought out a small smile. 'We'll just have to wait and see...though I hope this isn't indicative of some permanent psychological change.'. With that thought, she turned to Ichigo to see him looking at her with a reassuring smile, as though somehow he knew EXACTLY what was bothering her.

Nel was also troubled by Ichigo's recent changes. Despite her childish appearance, she was very perceptive when it came to what a person was like. (Why she was so perceptive or how she acquired it is a mystery for another time, at least for Ichigo and company). When Nel first met Ichigo, she sensed that he was the kind of person who would only fight when necessary, and that was to protect the people dear to him. He may have been a hot-head with a cocky attitude, but he was not the sort of person who would start fights or hurt people for no more reason than pleasure or revenge. In short, he was the kind of person she wanted to be around.

Now, this was a different Ichigo. He was still hot-headed and cocky, and he still wanted to protect those dear to him by any means, including fighting. Now, however, he seemed eager to find the Espada for no other reason than to fight them, either for fun or to test his new power.

'Is this the same Itsygo that I met only a short while ago?' she found herself asking. 'Is this change permanent or temporary? Will he get better, or worse?'. With each question she dreaded learning the answer, more so than the last. Her fears were alleviated somewhat when Ichigo caught her eye and gave her that same knowing, reassuring smile he gave Rukia.

About half an hour later, they arrived at a circular room with five corridors leading out. Ichigo and the others, seeing that time was short, decided to divide and each take one of the corridors. First, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, and Uryu left, each taking a separate path. Soon after, the Arrancar followed, though only Nel knew which person she ran after: Ichigo. The other Arrancar, in their attempt to follow Nel, bumped into each other and, in a moment of dizziness, each went down a random path.

Unbeknownst to them all, they were being monitored from afar by two of the Shinigami traitors, one with his permanent grin split even wider than normal as he watched the group depart and called five Arrancar each with a simple order: "Do not leave them alive."

Well that's chapter 4. I know it's rather short, but here's the important point: I'm gonna focus on Ichigo and his fights, and all the others are as they happened in canon. It's not that I like him better than the others, but I can't write that much, and there's nothing about those fights that I want to change. I will touch on them through the next chapter, but not much else.


	5. Chapter 5: New Muscles

Again, I do not own Bleach, nor do I make any claim to.

Ichigo ran down the corridor, keeping his eyes, ears, and mind open for any indication that someone, friend or foe, was near. Just as he stopped to gain a breath, he felt himself stiffen and ready his weapon for there was...another mind, above him...and another, behind him...getting closer...yelling mentally, and soon physically, 'ITSYGOOO! BAKA! WAIT FOR NEL!'

Ichigo gave off a sign of exasperation as he turned to see the child Arrancar running after him. "Nel! Go back!" he yelled to her. "It's not safe for you!", but his protests had no effect as Nel just kept running towards him. "NO! NEL WANTS TO BE WITH YOU!" She screamed out, with maybe a touch increase in pitch. 'She's never gonna listen.' Ichigo thought, giving up on trying to reason with her. 'I guess I'll have to carry her back.' he thought as he prepared to catch her, but he got a surprise when she yelled out "Super Speed!" and disappeared, only to reappear headbutting him in the stomach, and sending him ten meters down the corridor.

"Nel, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, pulling himself up...and was surprised to see Nel holding her head, and yelling in pain "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OOOOWWWW!". This continued for a full minute before she managed to let go off her head, and look up at Ichigo. "ICHIGO, WHAT ARE YOU **MADE** OF?" she asked, with astonishment and pain in her voice. "IT'S LIKE HITTING **STEEL**!" she yelled as her eyes started to lose focus. "And when did you have nine-no eleven!- identical twin brothers?"

Ichigo could only stare in amazement at the damage that his body did to Nel. 'I guess that's my Hierro at work.' he thought as he recalled Hichigo's lectures on his new abilities. "Nel, I don't have any brothers. Maybe you hit something other than my stomach." he said trying to calm her down. "Hey, where are those two Arrancar that are always with you?" he asked, only now noticing the absence of said two Arrancar.

Nel suddenly looked up and saw, despite her out-of-focus vision, that her two brothers were nowhere in sight. "OH NO!" she screamed in fright. "NEL'S ALL ALONE! SHE'S LOST ALL HOPE! ALL HOPE! NOOOO!" Ichigo frowned in annoyance and muttered "I think the only thing that's lost is your mind.".

Just then, he stiffened up again, for the mind that he first sensed was here again, and closer this time. He yelled out "WHO'S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!", only to get a smug laugh in response and a clatter on the ceiling boards above, a clatter that was moving down the corridor.

Immediately, Ichigo set off after the clatter, yelling out "Are you SCARED of me? COME DOWN AND FIGHT!". Whoever it was Ichigo was chasing only said, in a Mexican accent, "Who said I was sca-? WHOOOOOAAAA!", and fell down, raising a cloud of dust. Then it was doing some weird dance, humming to itself, in between coughing fits. It, or he as it turned out, finished up with a pose and a proud announcement "You are witness to the graceful entrance of Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio!"

When Dordonii was finished, Ichigo first thought was 'Is this guy for REAL? He's JUST LIKE Don Kanonji! I bet he's nothing.'. But inside his mind, something went off, like Spiderman's Spider Sense. He did not know exactly what it was, his latent telepathy perhaps, but it was enough to convince him that the guy posing in front of them was much stronger and more ambitious than he appeared. Hell, maybe enough in both categories to challenge the current Espada.

"Hey, I'm gonna ask what may seem to be a very odd question." Ichigo began. "Were you ever a member of the Espada and do you wish to regain your rank?" Dordonii, for a moment, seemed to freeze perfectly in place, then asked with a shocked expression "How the hell did you know that, Nino?" to which Ichigo only responded "I'll take that as a yes.". Dordonii quickly recovered and said "You are correct, on both counts.". He sat down and began "I was the fourth Espada, but Aizen got the Hogyoku and I was demoted to Privaron Espada. I know what he truly is and how he sees us: scum that have no honor. He only cares about himself. But still, being an Espada is incredible, and I want my position back, but there's only one way to do it: prove myself.".

"I get it." Ichigo said. "You want to prove yourself by defeating me, right?", to which Dordonii only nodded. "Well guess what, you won't beat me." Ichigo asserted. "And what's more: I'll only need Bankai to do it." and with that he attacked. At first, Dordonii did not fight back, but just dodged the attacks. 'What IS this guy, an octopus?' Ichigo thought irritatedly and he continued to miss again and again. Then Ichigo noticed something, both in the corridor and Dordonii's mind: 'He's leading me to some room!' Ichigo realized. 'Well, I'll just let him. Maybe I can figure out what he's going to do.' Ichigo thought as he followed Dordonii down the corridor.

Eventually, they ended up in a circular room with wall-to-wall beams crisscrossing it. Ichigo took one last swing at Dordonii, who surprisingly did not dodge but blocked it with his foot. 'What? He didn't dodge?' Ichigo briefly thought before Dordonii disappeared, only to reappear behind Ichigo. 'Sorry pal. Won't work.' Ichigo thought as he blocked with his sword, but Dordonii disappeared again before contact could be made.

Suddenly, Ichigo heard a voice in his head...one with a very familiar Mexican accent: 'El nino is a lot faster than I was expecting. Oh well, next time I will hit him.'. Ichigo realized that his telepathy had just gone up a notch or two. Dordonii's thoughts continued: 'I'll attack from behind and when he turns to block Ill...ick him in...ibs'. The discontinuity disturbed Ichigo, but he had no time to worry for the next second he had to intercept Dordonii's attack. However, the information he managed to get was enough for him to surprise Dordonii by grabbing his leg and flipping him over into the wall, making half of the wall collapse.

'It seems that surprise won't work.' Dordonii thought before disappearing again. This time though he appeared in front of Ichigo and launched another kick thinking 'First, a kick to the gut, then two punches to the face.'. The kick landed, but Dordonii did not get the chance to try the punches cause he, like Nel before him found himself in a world of hurt. "GYAAAAAOOOOO!" he screamed, holding his leg and checking for broken bones. Seeing his opportunity, Ichigo launched another attack, but Dordonii blocked it and disappeared again.

"You're VERY good at RUNNING AWAY!" Ichigo yelled out while pondering to himself 'Why can't I determine his location with telepathy like I could before?'. Once again his horse, Hichigo, provided the answer: "That's because your brain isn't used to telepathy yet, so it can do one thing or another but not all. Don't worry King, you'll get it down.". 'Great, just how long must I wait?' he asked irritatedly. "Here's a tip." Hichigo answered. "Try diverting more of the surplus reiatsu into your telepathy and using it more often. Remember that sci-fi version of Old Man Yamamoto...um...Kenobi? Try taking his advice to heart."

Ichigo was momentarily surprised that Hichigo would reference Star Wars, but before he could try, he felt a whoosh of wind and saw Dordonii barely inches from him, holding his hands in front of him, pinkie and index fingers touching, and a red energy gathering in the formed space.

'Cero! Too close and too soon!' Ichigo realized. He also saw that Dordonii was too close to try Flash Step, but too far away for melee combat. However, he quickly remembered one of the techniques Hichigo said he could use: Bala. Dropping Zangetsu, he formed a clawed hand, charged black energy, outlined in red, and fired Bala. Dordonii was hit by Ichigo's Bala not once, twice, but **ten** times. Unfortunately, Ichigo's aim was lower than amateur, and most of them hit the wall, not his target, but the surprise element more than compensated for it, and as luck would have it, at least three hit Dordonii in the privates. 'What the HELL?' Dordonii thought and tried to clear his head, only to see Ichigo once more gathering energy in his clawed hand, taking longer this time, and Dordonii realized: This is gonna hurt.

Ichigo released the black and red Cero, which hit Dordonii squarely in the gut and sent him flying into the wall, collapsing it and part of the ceiling. Dordonii would have gone a hell of a lot farther if Ichigo's Cero held up. 'I guess the Hollow reiatsu is still chaotic, and I still need more practice.' to which Hichigo said "You're getting it Kingy.".

"What ARE you nino?" Dordonii yelled out, obviously in some pain, thinking 'Looks like I'll have to unleash my resurrecion.'. He stepped out of the hole in the wall, climbed out some rubble, slightly drew his sword and yelled "Maware, Giralda!" and a large twister formed around him. When the wind settled, Dordonii had grown horns on his shoulders, his mask extended to frame his face, and some kind of armor wrapped itself around his legs and jutted out at the waist.

"All right nino!" Dordonii said. "Let's end this once and for all!" and two cyclones with beak-like apparatuses on their fronts formed around him, generating an ear-shattering noise and hurricane force winds. Even with the wind and noise, Ichigo managed to hear Dordonii's thoughts: 'Maybe now the nino will finally use his full power.' and he unleashed his two cyclones.

They never got close to Ichigo.

With a smug smile on his face, Ichigo disappeared, creating a sonic boom, even larger than the one he did in Menos Forest, and reappeared in front of Dordonii. "You wanted me to fight at full power?" he asked the shocked Dordonii. "Well I'm sorry but I can't grant your wish at this time. I'll go as far as I can, and if you want, I would agree to fight you at a future date. But now, it's over. Bankai!" and Zangetsu transformed. Ichigo slashed at Dordonii, but he created a third cyclone to block the attack, after which he flew up, sporting a nasty cut. Along the way, he created five more cyclones to the ones he already had, numbering eight in total.

"Now you're talking Nino!" Dordonii called as he directed the cyclones all over the place trying to get Ichigo. Every now and then he would launch a Cero as well. None of his attacks landed anywhere near Ichigo, who would just Flash Step out of the way, sporting a shark-like grin the whole time. 'I could do this all day.' Ichigo thought, though one thing brought him out of his fight-induced glee.

One of the cyclones and a Cero he had dodged was bearing down on Nel, and she could not see or hear it.

"NEL!" Ichigo yelled out and Flash Stepped over to intercept the attack, if you could call it Flash Step. He moved so fast, he created not only a MASSIVE sonic boom, but a gust of wind to match and seemed not to move but teleport. When he got there, he took the attacks full on, which landed on the exact same spot.

"ICHIGO!" Nel yelled out as she saw him take the double barrage, only to be left in complete astonishment as he stood up. The same went for Dordonii - for Ichigo did not get even a single scratch or bruise.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Dordonii yelled out as Ichigo charged and unleashed a Getsuga Tensho, only to reappear behind Dordonii and launch a Cero, then he started attacking Dordonii from multiple directions in quick succession, so quick the attacks were virtually simultaneous. It only took ten seconds for Dordonii to be beaten to a bloody pulp and collapse to the floor.

"Nel you OK?" Ichigo asked as he landed next to her. "Nel's just fine, but what about him?" she asked pointing to Dordonii. "I think he'll be OK, but I'm not laying any bets." "Nel has an idea! Nel has special saliva!". 'GROSS!' Ichigo thought, but asked anyway: "What's so special about your saliva?" "It has healing properties! Not much, but it should help." "All right, anything to help pull him through." Ichigo said as she made her way to Dordonii, put her hand into her mouth, and out shot the saliva.

Meanwhile, Dordonii was in a world of pain of deep thought. 'How could that boy be so powerful? I was at full strength, he was not, and he beat me. Maybe I don't belong in the Espada. Maybe i'm just not strong enough. That boy...wasn't just strong, but brave as well. He rushed into danger to protect an innocent bystander. That's so like the Holy Mother: bravery, honor, and..moisture?'

He opened his eyes to see Nel standing over him, mouth wide open, and saliva pouring out...on him! After he got a faceful, he skittered back and yelled "What do you thinking you're doing?" and she answered "Just drooling all over your face.". "I figured that out myself! What I want to know is why you are drooling all over my face!" he yelled as he crawled back over to her.

"Quit moaning." Ichigo said with a bored expression on his face. "I mean it wasn't that bad Don Panini.". "It's DORDONII! Do I look like a delicious sandwich to you?" he yelled at Ichigo. "Nel's drool has some kind of healing properties." Ichigo explained. "It's weak, but useful.". "That's right. All Nel has to do is this." she said as she put her hand in her mouth, and a gush of fluids poured out. "DISGUSTING! That's not saliva! That's VOMIT!" Dordonii yelled out. Nel continued as though she didn't hear him, "Whenever my uvula is fondled, a ton of saliva comes out.". "Wherever did you get such a vocabulary?" he asked, but never got an answer as Nel clutched her mouth and weakly said "Uh-oh, gonna vomit." and...(you can guess).

A few minutes later, Dordonii had cleaned himself up and asked Ichigo the question that everyone wanted to ask: "Why are you so strong?". "Well, seeing as I might not see you again, I'll tell you." Ichigo responded. "Ever heard of Hiena Carnear?". "Bestia de Hueco Mundo?" Dordonii asked, the color draining from his face, accompanied by a gasp and an equally pale Nel.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ichigo said. "What do you know of her?". "She is a Hyena Vasto Lorde, active for over three centuries, and one of the few Hollows even Aizen never ATTEMPTED to recruit or mess with, not after the incident.", a statement that made Ichigo's eyebrows rocket to the moon. "Aizen tried to recruit HER and FAILED?" he asked. "Si, with four hundred Arrancar to support him, and she ANNIHILATED them all." he answered, and Ichigo let loose a HUGE breath of amazement.

"Then I guess I was lucky when I fought her." he said, matter-of-fact, which made Dordonii even whiter than he already was. "You fought her and LIVED?" he asked, to which Ichigo answered "Yeah, but I was injured almost to the point of death. To survive, I had to eat her reiatsu.". "YOU can eat reiatsu?" Dordonii asked, thinking 'Is there no limit to what this boy can do?'. "Now I have a ton of surplus reiatsu in my body, which I can use to augment my abilities." he said.

"No wonder I lost." Dordonii said. "Regardless, it was an honor to fight you, and I hope I live to do it again.". "You hope?" "I was under orders to kill you, and if I failed, the Exequias, our Execution Squad, would finish me if I was alive." he explained. "Well, in that case I'll help." Ichigo offered, but Dordonii shook his head. "No my friend. If you truly honor me, you must let me do this alone.". Ichigo simply nodded and turned to leave. "Uh Dordonii, do you know where Orihime is being held?" Ichigo asked, looking towards Dordonii. "Yes, she is in the central tower, under guard by Ulquiorra, the fourth Espada." he answered, pointing in a particular direction. "Thanks Dordonii." Ichigo said as he and Nel took off in said direction.

Dordonii smiled, thinking 'Ichigo, the one who defeated and ate the Beast, I hope you grow to be a great warrior.'. His musings were interrupted though by the arrival of the Exequias, who asked "Who was that and where are they going?". Dordonii was silent, which prompted the Exequias to declare "If you don't assist us, then we just go past you.". "I don't think so." Dordonii said before he attacked the leader, then he finished off the rest of them. 'Well, Ichigo, looks like I'll live to fight you again.' and with that, he just sat down and passed out.

Well, there's Chapter Five. I'm not sure whether to let Dordonii live to have his rematch, or kill him off before that. Please review.


	6. Chapter 6: 'Use the Force' Ichigo

Again, I do not own Bleach nor do I claim to do so.

Ichigo ran down the corridor, trying to think of what to do next, when he felt Chad's reiatsu dwindle to near nothing. 'Chad?' he thought. 'That felt like he...No! He...He CAN'T be dead!' and he prepared to run even faster in a desperate effort to save him when he heard Hichigo yell out "Hey King!".

'Shut up!' Ichigo responded savagely. 'We don't have time to talk. Chad's LIFE is on the line!' he thought but Hichigo was adamant.

"Listen, it's CHAD we're talking about." he said in a surprisingly comforting tone. "He'll be fine. In the meantime, no one is coming after us, if you haven't noticed. So this is the perfect opportunity to hone your abilities.".

'We'll do that AFTER Chad is rescued, not BEFORE." Ichigo said assertively, but Hichigo responded with equal assertiveness "Are you as STUPID as you are WEAK?" This last comment left Ichigo angry, but confused above all else, so Hichigo continued: "If someone could do that to CHAD, then they must be extremely strong. You may be strong, but you do not have CONTROL. To run off after Chad's attacker now would be suicidal. But, if you learn to control your abilities, particularly your telepathy, then he won't stand a chance.".

Ichigo stopped, and thought 'I've always had a talent for learning quickly. This shouldn't take too long.'. He relaxed, sat down, and said "Nel, I'm gonna do some training before we go further. I'll need to be focused, so please don't disturb me unless it's an emergency.". Nel only nodded in understanding, and took to standing guard.

'OK, so what exactly do I do?' Ichigo asked as he sat down in a lotus position and closed his eyes. "Pick a target, and try to pick up their thoughts. After, you've got them down, try a more distant target." Hichigo answered. Ichigo decided on Nel and tried to follow Hichigo's instructions.

At first nothing happened, much to Ichigo's annoyance, which prompted Hichigo to say "Hey, it's new to me, too, King!". Instead of responding, Ichigo continued trying. His perseverance was rewarded much more quickly than he had anticipated,. In less than three minutes, he began to sense Nel's thoughts, which contained fear of the Espada, concern for Ichigo and the others, and an uneasy curiosity of and admiration for Ichigo and his new abilities.

Fueled by his success, Ichigo pried further into Nel's mind, eventually picking up individual thoughts as well as basic feelings. These thoughts included 'I hope Pesche and Dondochakka are all right.', 'Will Ichigo's changes affect him as a person or just as a fighter?', and 'I wonder if that Dordonii we just fought was a masochist.'. That last thought almost shocked Ichigo out of his training.

Over the next few minutes, Ichigo honed his telepathy so he could read all of Nel's thoughts and feelings. 'I think I've got it down.' he thought. 'Now to broaden my range.'. He pushed his telepathy out in intervals, starting out at three meters, sweeping the area until the information he received was crystal clear, and then expanding it. He managed to push it out as far as thirty or forty meters before the receiving information was too weak to be used. 'I guess that's my limit.' Ichigo thought as he focused on sweeping the corridor and the adjacent rooms for minds other than Nel and Dordonii.

'All right, I've been at this for over half an hour.' Ichigo thought checking his watch, but quickly reacted 'Half an hour?'. He rechecked his watch, and sure enough, it confirmed that for the last half hour he had done nothing but sit around on his butt. 'No wonder my legs are asleep!' as he tried to stand up, nearly collapsed, and after three tries managed to make it. "Nel, let's get moving." he said as he picked up Nel and started down the corridor again. Along the way, Ichigo made telepathic sweeps of the area to check whether they may run into someone. 'So far I can't sense anyone.' Ichigo thought. 'But it seems that my telepathy is limited when I'm moving. If I plan to use my telepathy in combat, I'll need it to be as clear as when I'm stationary.'.

"Just keep practicing, King and you'll get it down." Hichigo replied. "It's the only way you've been progressing so far." he added as Ichigo focused on his telepathic senses. Surprisingly, not only did his telepathy get clearer, but much sooner than when he was practicing while stationary. 'I guess I got the basics down.' Ichigo thought with a grin cracking on his face.

His moment of self-satisfaction was cut short, however, when he sensed a nearby mind... one with an intelligence... but ruled by instincts... instincts for destruction and death. 'Arrancar!' Ichigo thought as he let Nel down, gave a glance that said "Wait here.", and turned the corner.

He found himself in a large round room with a humanoid Arrancar, but over ten meters high at the shoulders, with massive arms and a huge chest. Its arms and chest were so big and heavy, it had to walk hunched over forward like a gorilla. It also had a long, massive tail, like a crocodile's, with spikes running from the tip up to the back. Its Hollow hole was in the middle of its incredibly thick neck, and the remnants of its Hollow mask covered almost all of its face save the eyes, making it look like a white-faced gorilla with blue eyes and baring its teeth.

"I am Rey Gorila, and you are dead!" it declared in a loud hooting roar as it lunged toward Ichigo with unexpected speed. Ichigo, however, was still faster and dodged before it came within five meters of Ichigo. Ichigo landed on Gorila's hunched shoulders and prepared to stab him in the neck when he read the thought 'Tail!' and managed to avoid, narrowly, getting crushed by the massive crocodile tail.

Ichigo next landed on Gorila's head, which began to shake violently, forcing Ichigo to leave once more, this time landing to the left of Gorila, where he launched a Getsuga Tenshou at the Arrancar's neck. The attack hit the mark, but did not leave so much as a scratch. 'This guy's Hierro must be tough.' Ichigo thought as he Flashed Stepped away. 'However, I bet that at close range, he'll be vulnerable.' he added as he tried to think of a strategy.

He did not have long to think, however, as he found himself pinned in the grip of his opponent. All he could move was his head, and his sword was trapped at his side. Gorila lifted his other fist, where out came three long, curved claws from between his knuckles(Wolverine from X-Men). 'Cool!' Ichigo thought as he watched the claws lunge at him.

Most people in Ichigo's shoes would be paralyzed with fear, but Ichigo just smiled and spread out his arms, effortlessly freeing himself and launched a barrage of Bala at Gorila. Maybe because his opponent was bigger this time, Ichigo hit him with a lot more accuracy and frequency than his last opponent, with almost all of his shots hitting in the non-covered areas of the face. The barrage threw Gorila off balance as he covered his face from the attack.

Ichigo, however, did not move, but drew Zangetsu and waited for his opponent to recover. He did not have to wait long, as Gorila rose and prepared to attack. Ichigo was WAY ahead of him and fired a Cero, which hit his opponent in the gut and went right through, forming a new hole. Gorila doubled over in pain, but only briefly, as he disappeared and reappeared behind Ichigo, his hand gathering and releasing green energy.

'Cero!' Ichigo thought as he prepared to dodge, but something stopped him. He heard a mind yell out 'Wait Ichigo. Let Nel help you.', which caught him off guard. He looked at saw Nel standing in front of him, and the incoming Cero. Without even flinching, she closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and... SWALLOWED the Cero? Ichigo did not even have time to register the new info before she fired it all out again...back at Gorila.

'What was THAT?' Ichigo and Hichigo simultaneously thought, shock and astonishment coursing through their minds with lightning speed. They quickly recovered however when they saw they Gorila was not getting back up and had only 'OW!OW!OOOOOOWWWWWW!' going through his head. 'We can worry about that later.' they thought at the same time. 'This is our chance!' they pronounced as they charged with Zangetsu drew to their side.

Gorila managed to haul himself up and prepared to attack with his claws, only to watch Ichigo disappear. The next thing he knew was a sharp pain in his forehead, like a needle but sharper, then he found the cause: Ichigo had stabbed him in the forehead with Zangetsu. The next few minutes were agony as he watched Ichigo pull out Zangetsu, only to place a hand inside the wound and charge a Cero with it. The resulting blast blew out Gorila's head and Ichigo away from the now decapitated corpse.

As he landed, Ichigo looked over the body of his opponent and eyed the still deployed claws. 'Those looked cool.' he thought, briefly wondering if he could have them as well. Then he thought 'But they were useless. And I bet they hurt coming out.' and with that he left the corpse to disperse into spirit particles.

As he walked from the body, he saw Nel frozen in shock, apparently from the decapitated body. 'She wasn't supposed to see that.' Ichigo thought as he moved towards her. "I'm sorry Nel. You shouldn't have had to see that." he began, but was cut off before he could go further. "No Ichigo." she said. "I'm not shocked at the body, but at you. You were so strong and fast, and could use Cero and Bala. No Shinigami should be capable of doing that. Just what is going on with you?" she finished with pleading in her voice.

"Like I said, I'll tell you and the others what happened, but not right now." he answered in a calming voice. She was far from calm, however, for she yelled "What's wrong with RIGHT NOW?". Ichigo winced at the sharpness and volume that she used, but before he could respond, he felt both a MASSIVE reiatsu, along with an ABSOLUTELY formidable mind behind it.

"Because we've got company." he managed to answer as he and Nel looked up and saw Ulquiorra, one of the first two Arrancar he ever saw back in town. Ulquiorra just looked at him, his expression never changing, and said "Quite impressive, Ichigo." as he motioned to the battle that just took place. Ichigo just said "I don't have time for you. I've come for Orihime.".

'Strange.' Ichigo heard Ulquiorra thought. 'He came all this way just to save her? Why, when the war with Aizen is very close to beginning.'. Ichigo was about to answer when he read Ulquiorra's mind further. 'I guess this is the "heart" Orihime spoke of. She said that this would happen. Aizen was right when he sent me to kidnap her.'. "You kidnapped her?" Ichigo, enraged by the new information charged, only to have Ulquiorra block him.

"Curious." he said, as though he was perusing an art museum. "You knew that I kidnapped Orihime, but I never told you. And you only found out two seconds ago, but how?" Ichigo ignored the question as he pressed his attack. 'Could it be some form of telepathy?' Ulquiorra thought, with a twinge of confusion in his voice. 'The only entity we know to be telepathic is the Beast. So how could Ichigo possess the same power?' he continued.

"If you survive Aizen's death, then I'll tell you!" Ichigo roared as he prepared to fight. "For what you did, I'll go ALL OUT on you! BANKAIIII!" he shouted as black reiatsu engulfed him. In the haze he heard Hichigo say "Oi King. You can use your Hollow Mask now. Your reiatsu is stable enough.". 'The first sentence was all I needed to hear!' he thought as he drew his mask and jumped out of the haze.

When he emerged, not only had his weapon changed, but he did as well, much to Ulquiorra's surprise. 'What is..? How did...? What IS he?' Ichigo heard him think as Ulquiorra thought as he beheld Ichigo's new form.


	7. Chapter 7: Battle Reverberations

Again, I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so.

Ulquiorra stood paralyzed in shock and disbelief as Ichigo leaped out of the reiatsu that his Bankai released. The figure that he saw was humanoid and wore Shinigami robes, but had a wider chest, thicker arms, and a more pronounced musculature. The figure also had a Hollow mask on his face, shaped like a hyena, but painted white with black stripes on the left side. Finally, the figure's back, sides, and limbs were covered in a reddish fur, with black spots, but the lower half of the legs and arms were encased in white gauntlets, tipped with talons on the fingers and toes.

'What **IS** he?' Ulquiorra thought, which caused Ichigo to look down briefly at his new form and said mentally 'That's what **I** want to know.'. "This is your new Hollow form." Hichigo answered. "When you ate Hiena's reiatsu, the surplus from your augmentation and healing combined with my reiatsu and this is the result. Now, whenever you Hollowfy, you get this form along with the rest of the power package.". The only response Ichigo could think of was 'COOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL!' as he attacked Ulquiorra with a right punch.

Ulquiorra took a defensive stance to parry the attack, only to stand helplessly as Ichigo slipped past his guard and scored a direct hit to Ulquiorra's face, smashing the jaw and check bones, knocking out half his teeth, and twisting his neck **three** **times****AROUND!** To top it off Ulquiorra was sent flying through the wall, only to land after going through fifteen adjacent rooms. By then, he had a shattered skull, massive internal and external bleeding, and his neck snapped AGAIN.

Seeing the destruction he caused with just one punch, Ichigo sported a grin that would freeze even Kenpachi or Aizen in terror, and began to laugh... but not HIS laugh. The sound that came out of his mouth was more a barking laugh like a hyena's. The laugh echoed through the room and the corridors leading out, reaching Aizen and the other Espada.

Harribel, sitting on the roof of the dome with her Fraccion, felt her eyes widen, her body stiffen, and her heart quicken in fear. Her Fraccion was faring far worse, being forced to the ground and straining to breathe. "What the HELL was THAT?" Apache asked no one in particular. "How should I know?" Mila Rose replied. "Who said I was asking YOU?" Apache retorted, prompting Sun-Sun's response: "Could you two get along for two seconds? You ALWAYS have to act like children. It's really quite embarrassing.". "SHUT UP SUN-SUN!" Apache and Mila-Rose shouted back and tried to get up to pummel her, only to be pushed back by the sheer pressure.

"That," Harribel said. "That is the laugh of a superior being, but not the Beast.", she continued much to the surprise of her Fraccion. "This laugh is more masculine, and the reiatsu is not that of a Hollow, but more a cross between a Hollow and a Shinigami. Actually, I felt this reiatsu and the Beast's from inside the Menos Forest, locked in battle. When it was over, the BEAST'S reiatsu vanished." she finished, with shock and disbelief written on the collective face of her Fraccion.

"Im-im-IMPOSSIBLE!" they all said. "Aizen-sama sent a whole army of Arrancar to recruit or destroy her. You, and the other top Espada were there, as was HE! AND, only you, Aizen, and the other Espada survived, and you were all BARELY away from death!" they added. "And you're saying a single Shinigami beat the Beast, and is the source of this incredible reiatsu?" they asked, to which Harribel only nodded.

While her Fraccion trembled in fear of whatever the source of this reiatsu was, Harribel was deep in thought, remembering when Aizen first recruited her. "Work for me, and I will give you power. Together, we can destroy the Soul Society and end the Shinigami sport of killing Hollows." he said, to which Harribel willingly agreed, partly out of fear for her Fraccion and anger at the Shinigami. Very soon after, however, she discovered what Aizen really was: ruthless, selfish, manipulative, and saw everyone else as merely a pawn in his twisted game. Grimmjow, Starrk, and Barragan all made this realization, but they knew that Aizen was too strong for them, individually or collectively, to defeat. In fact, they were HOPING that he would die when he went after the Beast. When he survived, they simply decided to give up on trying to eliminate him.

Now, her hope was reborn, as she felt the presence and power of a being that was to Aizen what the Beast was to Hollows. Finally, she could she could be free of Aizen, once and for all. But she also realized that she was attracted to this new being... in a romantic sense. This being was not only powerful, much more so than Aizen, but it was something he never was: unrestrained. This being would shower her, heck, drown her in its power... and perhaps even more than that... a feeling that she could only think of as WONDERFUL.

Her Fraccion were having similar thoughts. They, like their Mistress, saw Aizen as the cold, ruthless bastard he was, and this being as a chance for freedom. They also saw a chance for something else: a chance for fun... a new opponent to fight... one that could actually DEFEAT them. Being the Fraccion of the First Espada, they were the strongest Arrancar, second only to the other top Espada, which meant that the other Arrancar were no fun to fight. To top it off, the other Espada stalwartly refused to fight them.

Now, they had a chance to fight a new enemy, an enemy that was not only far stronger than them, but would fight at FULL power. The thought of such a prospect filled them with excitement and split their faces into maniacal grins. "I can't WAIT to face this thing!" Apache happily yelled out. "I can't BELIEVE the words are coming out of my mouth, but the same goes for me." Mila-Rose inputted, and Sun-Sun simply nodded in response.

Meanwhile, Satan, inflicting his eternal torment on the poor sinners that were stuck with him, suddenly found himself in want and need of a fur coat. He looked up and saw...SNOW...in HELL! "This CAN'T be happening!" he said as he began to shiver.

Of course, this did not last long as Apache soon asserted "**I'll** go first.", to which Mila-Rose retorted "OH NOOO you don't!", prompting Sun-Sun to simply shake her head in disappointment. With that, Hell defrosted and Satan sighed in relief.

On the other side of the palace, Barragan was being served his customary serving of drink and ego, when he found himself squashed flat against his chair, so flat his servants had to use a crowbar to get his back to normal. Once he was his proper shape again, albeit a little shorter, he asked everyone's question for them: "What the hell was THAT?". Everyone could only shake their heads in puzzlement as they tried to stand up straight. Then they heard the laugh, and Barragan thought that his blood had turned to liquid nitrogen.

"Your Highness," Ggio Vega, his second-in-command stuttered. "T-that's...the...the BEAST!". Soon, everyone ceased moving and started looking around for an exit or a hole to hide in. Only Barragan resisted the urge to run and hide as he said "No that is not the Beast.". At first, no one responded, as they tried to reconcile their faith in their former king and the reality of the situation. "It sounds like the Beast, and feels similar to the Beast, but the laugh is male, and the reiatsu is wrong, more like a Shinigami." he explained, which apparently soothed and frightened his subordinates at the same time.

"If it is not the Beast, then what is it Sire?" Ggio asked. Barragan only answered "A being of far greater power than any of us, even Aizen.". With that statement Barragan realized 'This is my chance to be rid of him for good! And for me to regain my throne!', and he grinned for the first time since he became King of Hueco Mundo, countless centuries ago. 'I'll let it kill Aizen, and all the other Espada, then, when it's weak and exhausted, I'll kill it, and my reign will be indisputable!' he thought and began to laugh, much to everyone's confusion.

In another part of the palace, a place where nobody went unless they HAD to, arose the distinct sound of snoring. Then the wave of reiatsu hit the room, waking its sole occupant, who stood up rather too quickly and soon fell back to the floor, holding his head. A few minutes later he tried to stand again, only to suffer two attacks: the barking laugh that originated somewhere in the palace and froze him in terror; and a child-sized Arrancar that leaped up and hugged him around the neck, shaking with fear, and strangling him at the same time.

"Starrk! Starrk! Help, it's the Beast!" the child Arrancar yelled out, unaware of what she was doing. "Lily-nette! Let...me...go!" Starrk managed to choke out, his face starting to change colors and his eyes glazing over. Lilynette, realizing what she was doing, quickly let go and found herself straining to keep her back straight. Surprisingly, Starrk did not go back to sleep as he usually did, but instead looked to the origin point of the laugh, wondering what was there.

"That is not the Beast." he said calmly and surprisingly without any indication that he was going back to sleep. "The laugh belongs to a male, and the reiatsu is apparently a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid." he explained to a very confused Lilynette. "Another Arrancar?" she asked. "No, the Shinigami reiatsu seems to be the "core" so to say, so it's not an Arrancar." he answered, just as baffled as Lilynette. "Could it be a Shinigami that acquired the powers of a Hollow? That would seem to be the answer, but how?" he continued, stroking his chin. Lilynette could only look up in amazement at the seriousness and energy he exhibiting. 'I have not seen him like this since...since...since after Aizen recruited him' she thought.

Two centuries ago, when Starrk first became a Hollow, he felt very lonely, the emotion possibly carried over from his human existence. When he was human, he was a Hikikomori, a person who spent all his time inside and away from people. The cause may have been a fear of being embarrassed in social situations, his uncommonly pale and easily burned skin, or both. Regardless of the cause, no matter what kind of treatment he received, he never got better, and after completing basic education and training, he only went outside once...when he died.

That day he was running an errand for a professor who provided Starrk all his entertainment, education, and business by mail. He was the first person to ever attend college by mail, with a major in Western literature and weapons, and a flare for American cowboys and frontiersmen. That day, he was making his way from his home in Kyoto to Tokyo when he and the caravan he was traveling with was attacked by bandits. His only weapon was a pistol his professor gave him from America, and although he never left his house, he was astonishingly good with that pistol and was able to kill up to 13 bandits with just six bullets, using ricochet to slit throats. Unfortunately, after killing the thirteenth bandit, one managed to sneak behind him and stab him in the back.

The next thing he knew, he was looking at his dead and mangled body in the Japanese countryside. With nothing else to do, he decided to complete the errand he was assigned to when he died. Although he waited a very long time for someone to find the caravan and bring it to its intended destination, he waited nonetheless, like a dog. He may have been lazy, but he was not ungrateful, especially to the professor responsible for most of his livelihood.

He soon found that his waiting had been for naught, as his professor, the one that he had reliably completed his assigned task for, soon discounted him. He said "Oh well. Maybe that kid will be reincarnated as a bull or a goat or an ant. It would serve him right for being so lazy and nonsocial.". With that, Starrk's depression deepened and his soul began to empty, much more quickly than most Pluses, perhaps because he was so depressed to begin with. Within a month, he was a large lupine Hollow, capable of multiplying to produce a pack and turning his forelimbs into cowboy pistols and his tail into a lasso.

Driven by his grief and depression, Starrk hunted and devoured other Hollows with uncharacteristic ferocity and energy. Within three months, he was a Gillian, and in another four months, he was an Adjuchas. However, while he looked very much like when he was just a Hollow as an Adjuchas, he began losing his drive and ferocity, his lazy persona replacing it. Soon, he ceased hunting altogether and just slept all the time. Now, instead of hunting Hollows, he let them come to him. Surprisingly, his past as a wolf whose ferocity rivaled Grimmjow's did not discourage the thousands of Hollows that tried to eat him.

Within a year, he became a Vasto Lorde, changing from a wolf to a humanoid covered in wolf-like fur, donning a wolf-skull mask, and wearing an outfit like an American cowboy with matching pistols. He also met Lilynette, a fiery young Adjuchas who, like him, deceived Hollows into attacking her though with her small size and stature rather than Starrk's laziness and perpetual need for sleep. This time though, she decided to hunt for herself, and her first target was Starrk.

Big mistake as she was effortlessly blown away by a single Bala, but instead of eating her, Starrk simply lay down on the sand and fell asleep. After she recovered, she tried a sneak attack on Starrk while he was asleep, only to find herself bouncing along the ground and landing twenty meters away on her butt. Enraged she charged, hoping to get him as he tried to go back to sleep, but he just kicked her away, breaking a horn in the process. She prepared to launch another attack when Starrk said "Look, kid, I don't want to eat you, but if you keep attacking me, I will." and he went back to sleep.

Surprisingly, Lilynette did not try to attack or argue, she just stood there, not doing anything for five whole minutes. Then she just laid down next to Starrk and fell asleep as well. From that moment, they were stuck together, like glue. No one knows why, but maybe it was because they both felt a need for each other...as companions. However it started, the next two centuries were relatively good for them, just napping, eating, and one-way teasing. That all changed when Aizen arrived.

It was just a normal day when Starrk felt the reiatsu of an exceedingly powerful Shinigami and woke up. He looked to the source of the reiatsu, and saw Aizen who said "Work for me, and I will make you stronger.", and to his surprise Starrk refused. Starrk never really desired power, but simply companionship. Aizen tried again and again to get Starrk to agree, but failed each time. Eventually Aizen, hypnotizing Starrk with his Zanpakuto, tricked him and Lilynette into attacking each other, revealing the trick just as Lilynette was about to die, and only saving her when Starrk agreed to serve him. Ever since, Starrk hated Aizen, but knew that as long as he was hypnotized, he could not do a thing about it.

Now, he was uncharacteristically excited, so much that he could not get back to sleep. He found an opportunity to eliminate Aizen once and for all. 'At last, I can get back to my life.' he thought and smiled, leaving poor Lilynette baffled at his new found energy and enthusiasm.

Elsewhere, Grimmjow was pulling Orihime down a corridor when he felt the reiatsu and suddenly found himself unable to move, followed by the barking laugh. His first thought was 'The Beast?', but he quickly corrected himself. 'No, the laugh is of a man and the reiatsu is like a Shinigami. A very... familiar Shinigami. Ichigo!' and he cracked his signature psychotic grin. 'Holy Shit, now I REALLY can't wait for our rematch!' he thought as he picked up the pace, following the reiatsu.

Orihime, in contrast to Grimmjow's enthusiastic bloodlust, shivered in fear and dread at the reiatsu. 'It feels a lot like a Hollow, but more like Ichigo.' she thought. 'Was he EATEN?' she continued with terrifying apprehension, but discounted that thought when she realized that the "core" was Ichigo and not a Hollow. 'Ichigo, what happened? Did you become a Hollow? Please no!' she dreaded as Grimmjow pulled her along.

Through the palace, everyone that felt the reiatsu were overwhelmed by its power and pressure, and reacted with fear, in the case of the Shinigami and the lower level Arrancar, or excitement, in the case of the Espada and the traitors. In one man's case, though, he felt little more than fascination at the raw power exhibited by this being. 'I must study this more closely.' Aizen thought as he eyed the Hogyoku and started scheming on how to use this new being.

Meanwhile, Ichigo finally stopped laughing, looked over at Ulquiorra, and saw that he was untwisting his neck and getting up. 'He's STILL alive? **GOOODD!**' Ichigo thought as he prepared for another round, but he was caught off guard by Ulquiorra yelling out "Tozase, Murcielago!" (Enclose, Bat) and a huge burst of green reiatsu...well, to the layman that is. When the reiatsu cleared up he saw Ulquiorra standing up, bare-chested with two pairs of wings sprouting from his back, a tufted tail, fur covering his arms and lower body, and talons for hands and feet, all black. He also had two white horns coming out of his head and his tear marks were bigger and black as well.

"Congratulations, Ichigo. You forced me to use my SECOND release state, something not even Aizen knows of." Ulquiorra said. "It is fortunate that we are here for this room was specially designed to withstand reiatsu of our magnitude. Farewell" he finished as he charged a green Cero, only to watch Ichigo disappear, and feel a clawed palm enter his rib cage as easily as a hot knife would cut butter. Ichigo grabbed a handful and pulled back, splattering blood over them both, Ulquiorra keeling over...only for Ichigo to watch him stand up again and the newly made hole close up again.

"Let me guess: your regenerative abilities." Ichigo said to Ulquiorra's surprise. "Usually, Arrancar sacrifice those for strength, but you can regenerate everything except your brain and internal organs." he finished as Ulquiorra could only nod in response, thinking 'If he knows, then why did he...?'. "I just wanted to see it in action." Ichigo answered as he launched a barrage of kicks and punches, shattering bones with ease, only to stop just before killing him, Flash step away, and give Ulquiorra a minute to heal.

'Why doesn't he finish me off?' Ulquiorra thought, wondering at Ichigo's behavior. "I'm having too much fun." Ichigo answered, waiting for Ulquiorra to heal. "Hey, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you attack me." he yelled out, and only got Ulquiorra's shimmering disappearance as an answer. Ulquiorra appeared behind him and charged a Cero, but shaped it as a lance. 'This is my one chance. Lanza del Relampago' he thought as he lunged at Ichigo, only to have it intercepted by Ichigo's finger. 'Impossible!' Ulquiorra thought as Ichigo grabbed Lanza del Relampago, Flash stepped away, and threw it at Ulquiorra, only to disappear and reappear behind Ulquiorra and stab him in the back just ahead of the impact of the lance-shaped weapon.

Ulquiorra collapsed, his abdomen ribbed open, his right lung punctured, and bleeding massively. Ichigo just landed behind him and was about to start another round of laughing when he felt his mask begin to crack and shatter. He also felt his strength fading, like it was being drained, and he too collapsed. 'What the..?' he began wondering when he heard Hichigo answer. "It's a good thing you finished that fight when you did King. You were having so much fun you overtaxed yourself and drained your spiritual pressure too quickly.", the last statement making Ichigo feel like an idiot. "Don't sweat it King." Hichigo continued. "You weren't used to that kind of power, but your body will recover, adapt, and soon you'll be able to go on for MUCH longer. In the meantime, TRY to be more efficient". Ichigo responded 'You know, ever since I ate Hiena, you were awfully friendly. And just when I start acting like you, I get criticized.'. Hichigo shrugged "Maybe, but **I** never put us in danger for the sake of fun!". 'Looks like things are back to normal.' Ichigo started to grin when he saw Ulquiorra pull himself up, with pure rage written on his face.

"Ichigo, I may die here," he started as he pulled himself to his hands and knees, "but you will too!". Ulquiorra shot a still clawed hand at Ichigo who, taken by surprise and distracted by his mental conversation with Hichigo, could only watch as the hand entered his chest and formed a hole...just like Ulquiorra's. With that, both collapsed, exhausted but still trying to heal themselves. It was then that Grimmjow and Orihime entered and saw the damage.

"Well, well." Grimmjow said. "Looks like I did the right thing bringing her along. Get 'working girl." he ordered as he pointed to Ichigo. Orihime could only nod as she said "Soten Kisshun." (Twin Sacred Return Shield) as an oval golden shield formed over Ichigo and his wounds started to heal.

Here's Chapter Seven. Please Review.


	8. Chapter 8: Enemy of my Enemy

Again I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so. Also, in response to a review I received regarding the Espada ranks, here are the ranks: Tia Harribel is First, Coyote Starrk is Second, Barragan is Third, and the ranks are the same as the canon ones from Ulquiorra down.

For the first time since her powers awakened, Orihime found them failing her. Her Soten Kisshun managed to heal the one bruise Ichigo had acquired during his fight with Ulquiorra, but it failed to undo the hole made in his chest. "I...I...can't...reject it!" she exclaimed after waiting ten whole minutes for Soten Kisshun to undo the hole. "Who did this?" she asked, horrified by the act and her inability to help. Grimmjow just rolled his eyes and said "Who do you think, woman?" as he pointed to Ulquiorra's bleeding body. "Even if he weren't right there with Ichigo's blood on his hands, I know Ulquiorra's habits, including where he inserts a replica of his Hollow hole into whoever he considers worthy prey.".

Orihime's eyes widened in shock at the cruelty of the Fourth Espada. 'I knew, in my head, that he was bad. But seeing it in action is...is...just too much!' she thought as she continued her attempt to heal Ichigo. "Maybe it's a small amount of reiatsu left behind by Ulquiorra that's interfering with your powers." Grimmjow hypothesized, surprising Orihime and Nel with his ingenuity. "What?" he retorted, looking pissed off. "You think I'm a half-witted barbarian?" he yelled as he stood up, looking as though he would slap Orihime if she gave the wrong answer.

Suddenly, much to Orihime's relief, Ichigo's hole finally started closing up. Grimmjow seemed to calm down, only to turn to Ulquiorra lying on the floor and start berating him, apparently venting some of his held-down fury. "It's a lucky thing you're barely an inch away from death, Ulquiorra." he started, kneeling down like an aristocrat would a fallen commoner. "Otherwise, I'D do this to you for taking away my chance at a rematch! And you BETTER stay that way, or I'll rip your head off with my own hands, eat your reiatsu, and use your Zanpakuto as a TOOTHPICK!" he continued as he waited for Ichigo to finish healing.

Just then, he heard movement from Ichigo as the hole closed up...and laughter. "What's so funny?" Grimmjow asked with a growl in his tone. "I just overheard you threatening Ulquiorra, and I bet you couldn't rip tissue paper, WET." Ichigo answered, enraging Grimmjow, who started to draw a punch, but stopped himself. "Better watch your attitude, Kurosaki. This fight will be our LAST!" he hissed to Ichigo, who suddenly smiled. "REALLY? Then let's raise the stakes." he said and beckoned Grimmjow to lean closer. "Whoever wins gets the choice to EAT the loser's reiatsu, as much as he wants." Ichigo whispered, and Grimmjow's eyebrows seemed to rocket to high orbit. "You SURE, Kurosaki?" he asked, not daring to believe it until Ichigo nodded in response. "Oh well, it's your funeral, and it WILL be. Follow me." he said sporting his psychotic grin again and ran down the corridor, with Ichigo, Orihime, and Nel in tow.

Fifteen minutes later, they exited the palace and found themselves in an area covered in sand and populated by red towers(think Grimmjow's last fight with Ichigo). "Before we fight, let's just make sure we agree to the terms, Grimmjow." Ichigo said. "Funny. I was just about to say the same thing." Grimmjow responded, grinning. "Fine then, but let's fight somewhere else. I don't want Orihime or Nel to get hurt by accident.". "Fine by me." Grimmjow answered and both flashed away(effects, not technique), reappearing over ten meters away and twenty meters high, drew their swords, and charged.

At first, Grimmjow seemed to have the advantage, as he slipped past Ichigo's attack and attempted to slash from below, only to watch in shock as Ichigo grabbed his sword and kicked Grimmjow away. While Grimmjow was in flight, Ichigo called out "BANKAI!" and a burst of black reiatsu encased him, and when it cleared, Zangetsu was in its Bankai state. Grimmjow skit to a halt about fifteen meters away and charged again. Once he was in range, he thrust his sword at Ichigo, with his left palm pressed against the pommel for greater force. Ichigo parried the attack, the tip of Zangetsu pushing away Grimmjow's sword, then he turned Zangetsu until it was parallel to the ground and Grimmjow's sword was underneath it, then slashed at Grimmjow.

This time, Ichigo was surprised as Grimmjow pulled his left leg behind himself, freeing his sword, then he took a step forward with his right leg, ducking down and slashed at Ichigo's stomach. Once again, Ichigo dodged, flashing away and reappearing beside Grimmjow and slashed down at Grimmjow's neck...only to watch Grimmjow slip away again. This time, he slashed at Ichigo from above, then launched a kick at Ichigo's stomach after his strike was blocked. He then launched a barrage of kicks and punches, along with random sword strikes.

The attacks were largely useless though as Ichigo, along with his telepathy, could easily keep up with Grimmjow's speed. In fact, Ichigo was able to exceed Grimmjow, as he managed to hit Grimmjow over five times. Surprisingly, Grimmjow was able to match Ichigo and successfully struck four times, though his punches landed on generally more vulnerable spots. Unfortunately, Grimmjow learned about Ichigo's Hierro the hard way when he found his knuckles bleeding.

'What the Hell is he?' Grimmjow thought as he attacked again, this time charging a Cero with his left hand. Ichigo intercepted it, however, with his right hand, and tried charging his own Cero, only to watch Grimmjow charge a second Cero with HIS right hand. Throwing Zangetsu into the air, surprising Grimmjow, he grabbed Grimmjow's left wrist with his left hand, pulled him across his chest, and elbowed Grimmjow in the armpit with his right arm.

Grimmjow, however, did not react, nor did he stop charging his Cero, and soon released it at point blank range. Ichigo surprised everyone by catching it in his right hand. There was a large explosion, kicking up dust and blowing Grimmjow and Ichigo apart. When the dust settled, everyone saw that Ichigo was completely unfazed save for a VERY small burn on his hand. However, he was temporarily disoriented as he tried to find his opponent in the cloud of dust.

Grimmjow, however, had no such difficulty as he was blown in a rather upward direction by the explosion. Once he came to a stop, he cut his right hand with his sword, sheathed it, and charged a Cero. This Cero, though, was blue instead of red and crackled like lightning. "This is the ultimate Cero. One that only we Espada can use. GRAN REY CERO!" Grimmjow yelled out as he released his attack.

The supercharged Cero shot out, spinning and crackling like a sphere of electricity, right at Ichigo. Surprisingly, Ichigo did NOT attempt to dodge or block or do anything. He just stood there, and pulled his hand across his face as through ripping something from it. Next, there was a burst of black reiatsu that engulfed Ichigo and extinguished Grimmjow's Gran Rey Cero as easily as a puff of air would a candle flame.

'I DO NOT BELIEVE IT!' Grimmjow thought as he beheld the sight before him. The sight of Ichigo only added to his bewilderment. 'What HAPPENED to this guy?' he added as Ichigo disappeared and reappeared behind Grimmjow, only he was faster this time...WAY faster. Instinct ALONE saved Grimmjow from the same fate that befell Ulquiorra, as he managed to dodge at the last second, though Ichigo reappeared behind him and kicked out, sending Grimmjow flying into a tower, utterly demolishing it.

"Is that it, Grimmjow?" Ichigo yelled out, drawing everyone's attention to him. Nel and Orihime both gasped in shock at the sight of a more muscular Ichigo, with red fur and black spots on his limbs and back, a white hyena mask on his face, and white clawed gauntlets on his forearms and lower legs. 'Is this REALLY Ichigo?' they both thought. 'He looks so much like a Hollow.'.

Their pondering was cut short by Grimmjow yelling "Kishire, Pantera!", followed by a burst of blue reiatsu and a massive shockwave, one that even shook up Ichigo. "Orihime, use Santen Kesshun to protect you and Nel until the battle's over. And no matter what happens, DO NOT take it down." Ichigo ordered. "Do it NOW, Orihime!" he added when she did not respond immediately. "Ye-Yes, Ichigo. Santen Kesshu, I reject!" Orihime said as a glowing triangular shield manifested itself in front of her and Nel.

When the reiatsu cleared up, they saw Grimmjow in his release state: lithe, feline, covered in white, form-fitting armor, with black hands and cat-like feet tipped with claws, blades on his forearms and calves, and a long, whip-like tail. 'So that's his release state.' Ichigo thought as he prepared Zangetsu, but before he could take a stance, ANOTHER reiatsu burst engulfed Grimmjow, but darker and denser this time. The reiatsu that emanated from Grimmjow was increased ten-fold, and was now even larger than Ichigo's at the moment. When the reiatsu calmed down, Grimmjow was more muscular, particularly in the legs, his hands and feet were encased in black gauntlets that resembled Ichigo's, but lither and longer, especially the feet, his hand claws were longer, sharper, and grew from the gauntlet, and he had additional blades on his shins and feet along with the claws he already had.

Grimmjow let out a MASSIVE roar, paralyzing Ichigo with the sheer force behind it. 'A shockwave? Just his scream is this strong?' he thought, then he noticed a strange odor, and found himself relaxing. His brief relaxation was broken when he saw Grimmjow charging at him, only he was so fast, Ichigo had a hard time keeping track of him. Grimmjow reappeared in front of Ichigo saying "And Ulquiorra bragged that only HE had a second release state. Be flattered that you're fighting me like this. I was saving this for when I fought against Ulquiorra." as he launched a punch right in Ichigo's gut, sending him flying. Grimmjow then appeared behind Ichigo and kicked him upwards. If it were not for Ichigo's Hierro, he would have been shredded.

Grimmjow went in for another punch when Ichigo blocked, grabbed the attacking arm, and punched Grimmjow in the solar plexus, once, twice, thrice...up to fifty-three times, but moving so fast it seemed like only ten or eleven punches. After the thirteenth actual punch, Grimmjow managed to launch a series of kicks to Ichigo's gut and sides, getting up to ninety-seven before they broke off.

Ichigo was left with a lot of his red fur cut short, and some significant bleeding. When he tried to move, he found that he had at least two cracked ribs, some bruising under the armor, and internal bleeding due to all the attacks. Grimmjow, in contrast, was having a rougher time, the solar plexus area was heavily bruised, four of his ribs were broken, and he was having a very hard time breathing.

'He's FAST, much faster than me.' Ichigo realized. 'And that armor is TOUGH! Even with my strength I had to beat it hard to do any damage. But I'm stronger, so I should be able to outlast him. Besides, he can't hit me without getting close enough for me to hit him.' Ichigo thought with a self-satisfied smile. Then he sensed Grimmjow's thoughts as well: 'He's strong, but I'm fast. If I can attack from all sides, I should be able to wear him down. Besides, I don't need to get close to attack him.' and he grinned as he flashed away.

He reappeared behind Ichigo, threw a right hook, connected...and shed blood? Ichigo, who turned to block the attack felt a sharp pain in his right lung, looked down, and saw Grimmjow's fist against his chest and his blood on that fist. 'What in all of Hell?' Ichigo thought as he tried to grab Grimmjow, only to watch him slip away. Despite the pain, he managed to follow Grimmjow and see that he had long claws(think wolverine) where his fingers should have been.

"I see you've noticed." Grimmjow said, and his claws seemingly reverted back to fingers. "I can retract my fingers into a fist and leave the armor behind to form these claws. Then, I can punch and stab at the same time. Also, my reiatsu is sharpest in these claws, so you can't stop it with Hierro unless you calibrate it to EXACTLY equal or greater density. The same with these blades." he added as he flashed again, appearing before Ichigo and wrapping his tail around him, pinning his arms down, and launched a brutal barrage of clawed punches, spilling blood and breaking ribs. In the frenzy though, Ichigo managed to break free of the tail and start a counter-barrage, hitting Grimmjow in the solar plexus again and again until Grimmjow doubled over in pain.

He soon recovered and attacked Ichigo with his arm blades, but Ichigo managed to dodge in time and flashed away, grabbed Zangetsu and attacked Grimmjow, who blocked with his blades. A blurry frenzy of blades, kicks, and punches followed, with both fighters attacking and counterattacking. Grimmjow was the faster of the two and had more weapons, but Ichigo was stronger and his telepathy allowed him to keep ahead and counter most of Grimmjow's attacks.

After about five minutes, the frenzy ended and both combatants pulled back to assess the results. Ichigo's fur had been nearly shaved off and if it were not for the bleeding it would look as though he had mange. His mask was broken in the jaw and the ears, and began coming apart on the checks and forehead, but it was still strong around his eyes, which were still yellow with black sclera, so it was not coming off anytime soon. Grimmjow was not as bloody as Ichigo but his armor showed blunt trauma across his chest and stomach and he exhibited signs that he suffered from broken ribs, a fractured arm, and internal bleeding.

'If this keeps up, he's just gonna bleed me into defeat.' Ichigo thought. 'I gotta start doing more damage, and soon.' he added as he prepared a Getsuga Tensho, but then he heard Grimmjow's thoughts: 'I can't take much more. Looks like I'll have to use my final attack.'. Grimmjow pointed his right elbow at Ichigo, then released five darts(?) that flew towards Ichigo at surprising speed. Ichigo managed to dodge the darts only to watch Grimmjow lift his claws up as they emitted blue reiatsu, and slashed the air, yelling "Desgarron!". The blue reiatsu flew out from his claws and right at Ichigo, moving as though it was tearing the sky like claws.

Ichigo blocked the attack with Zangetsu, but he might as well have tried to stop the Earth from rotating. The attack pushed him back to the ground and soon started beating him into it. Ichigo found himself pressed against the ground, straining against the reiatsu. Grimmjow, seeing the success of Desgarron, grinned psychotically and yelled out "I am the King!". His celebration was premature as he found Ichigo had managed to stand upright and, using his superior strength, punched up and shattered one of the reiatsu "claws". Then he lifted Zangetsu and charged at Grimmjow, stopping just in front of him before yelling out "Getsuga Tensho!" and slashing down with all his strength, combining the two into a single powerful attack.

The attack cut Grimmjow to the organs from the left shoulder all the way down to the right thigh, even with his armor and Hierro. Ichigo soon found that he had to pay a significant price for Grimmjow managed to launch a clawed fist into his diaphragm with his right and a Desgarron from his left and impaled him through the stomach.

In the end, Ichigo's stamina and regeneration abilities proved to be the tie breaker, as he managed to hold on long enough to stop the bleeding and remain conscious. Grimmjow, while managing to close the gap in his armor, was still bleeding profusely and soon lost consciousness. Just before he fell to the ground Ichigo grabbed one of his hands and helped him land on the ground safely.

Orihime, seeing that the battle was over, lowered his Santen Kesshun and ran towards Ichigo as he landed on the ground. She arrived just as the rest of his mask shattered and his wounds seemed to close. "Ichigo, don't worry!" she cried out. "I'll patch you up straight away!" but before she could he held out a hand. "I'll be all right. I just need to take care of Grimmjow." he said as he walked over to Grimmjow and looked him over. "It looks like he needs it more... than... I?" Ichigo said, jumping up in surprise as Grimmjow's wounds started healing themselves as well, like Ichigo's, only slower.

Soon enough Grimmjow's eyes opened and he jumped up. "It's...not...over!" he said as he turned to face Ichigo. Ichigo just rolled his eyes in exasperation and replied "It IS over Grimmjow. You can barely stand, let alone fight." Ichigo said. "I don't care whether you're King or not. But what's the point of killing everyone in your path to become King? Once all is said and done, you have no one left to rule. If you hate me so much, I'll fight you anytime. Just stop for now." Ichigo continued when Grimmjow failed to respond and started to walk toward him. As he did, his Hollow form withdrew and his sword reformed... in his hand. "There is no way I'd lose to..Ugh!"

Just at that moment, a large crescent-shaped blade appeared from nowhere and dug itself into Grimmjow's side, giving him a massive cut and knocking him over. "What a sore loser! Just DIE already." a voice called out. Ichigo watched as the strange blade pulled itself away to a tall, lanky man with long black hair, a toothy grin, an eye patch over the left eye and much of the left side of his face, and a spoon-shaped hood behind his head. The man then started swinging the weapon that struck Grimmjow by a chain, attached to a long pole that sported the guilty blade and a mirror opposite.

"I don't know which one of you disappoints me more! Grimmjow for losing to you, or you for letting him LIVE!" the man sneered as he walked toward them. Grimmjow, though heavily injured, managed to yell out "Nnoitra you bastard...!". Nnoitra's only reaction was to throw his weapon at Grimmjow again, only to be blocked by Ichigo, who yelled out "What the HELL are you doing? Attacking a man who's down? You're own ALLY on top of it! Who are you?".

The man identified as Nnoitra simply sneered "What's the point in answering someone who's gonna DIE?" and he threw Ichigo away with the flick of his wrist. "But since you were good enough to defeat Grimmjow, in his second state, I'll tell you my name: Nnoitra Jiruga, the FIFTH Espada. You can take that to your GRAVE!" and he jumped, preparing to slice Ichigo in half. Ichigo yelled out "I am Ichigo Kurosaki!", as he braced himself. Though still recovering from his wounds, rolled away at the very last second, sprinted at Nnoitra, and punched with all his remaining strength...only to feel his fingers break and watch blood shoot out as though from a water pistol.

Ichigo screamed in pain and clutched his hand, trying to stop the bleeding. Nnoitra simply laughed smugly. "I have the strongest Hierro of ALL the Espada! Your punch was like a fly landing to me!" he sneered as he watched Ichigo. Then he kicked Ichigo, breaking most of his ribs and sending him flying over thirteen meters away. 'It's no good!' Ichigo thought as he tried to get up. 'I'm still badly injured from my fight with Grimmjow. What's more, this guy's ENJOYING this! All I'm getting from him is "KILL, KILL, KILL!" over and over again.' and he tried his Hollow mask again...only to fail spectacularly.

"Sorry King, but you'll have to wait to use the mask again." Hichigo said. 'WHAT?'. "You think YOU'RE drained? I feel like I need to sleep for a CENTURY! Heads up!" Hichigo finished as Nnoitra attacked again, slashing across, coming a thread away from decapitating Ichigo. Ichigo managed to dodge the slash, but Nnoitra punched him from below the chin, throwing him over twenty meters up, then reappeared above Ichigo and kicked down. Fortunately for Ichigo, he landed right next to Zangetsu for Nnoitra was diving for a final attack, when Ichigo jumped out of the way, and stabbed at Nnoitra's eyepatch... to no apparent effect. Nnoitra just laughed and punched Ichigo again, sending him where Grimmjow's prone body lay. Nnoitra then started moving towards Orihime who, in the confusion, found herself restrained by Tesla, Nnoitra's sole Fraccion member.

'Damn it!' Ichigo thought as he tried to get up, only to feel Grimmjow's hand grab him arm. "Wait, Ichigo..." he said weakly. "You can't... fight him in your current state. And by the time you... you could, he'd be too far away... and too strong anyway." he continued, causing Ichigo to scowl. "I don't have a choice!" Ichigo hissed as he tried to struggle away, but Grimmjow refused to let go. "There IS a choice: your prize." he responded, much to Ichigo's confusion. "Remember the stakes, the winner gets to eat the loser's reiatsu, if he wants?" Grimmjow asked, to which Ichigo mentally kicked himself for forgetting. "Here's the deal: most of my reiatsu is... is in my sword, so if you want it, you'll ha-have to release it, like I did. If you do that, the... reiatsu will try to bind with you, but it'll fail. Then... it'll coalesce into a new form... like my previous Hollow form. You can eat it either before... or after it coalesces. The only difference...is that if you wait for it to coalesce... then you'll have a physical battle to fight...whereas if you don't wait... then the fight will be in your head." he finished as he started to get up.

"Wait! I can't eat your reiatsu! I need my Hollow mask to do it!" Ichigo called out, but Hichigo interrupted. "Actually, now you can use it, but ONLY for about ten seconds.". "But still...!" Ichigo tried to argue but Grimmjow just used him to push himself up. "Listen, Ichigo, if you eat my reiatsu... I can NEVER use my full power again... I'll be permanently handicapped, and I can't live like that. Besides, if you eat my reiatsu... then I get to live on as part of you... which means I get to evolve and grow no matter what. In contrast.. if you don't... then I'll just disintegrate like any other Hollow... and I don't want that either. Besides... it was always my nature to go down fighting." and he started to charge a Cero. "Furthermore.. I've lived by the rule of the strong eat the weak. It's only fair that I abide by those rules." he finished as he launched his attack. Nnoitra, focused on Orihime was taken off-guard by the sudden attack.

The Cero, it turned out, did not do much damage on account of Grimmjow's weakened state and Nnoitra's Hierro. "Either your brain was damaged in the fight, or you're trying to get some form of revenge." Nnoitra sneered as Grimmjow charged at him, only to disappear in a burst of sonido, attack from behind, disappear again, and attack in a different direction. For all it mattered, Grimmjow might just as well have been a very annoying mosquito, as Nnoitra just swept his weapon and sliced Grimmjow in two, but not before suffering a punch to the solar plexus. 'Wait a minute!' he thought as he watched Grimmjow disintegrate into spirit particles. 'Where is his Zanpakuto?' he realized as he looked around. He soon found his answer.

"Kishire, Pantera!" Ichigo yelled out as he unleashed Grimmjow's Zanpakuto, only to be encased in a sphere of blue reiatsu, which suddenly began to cyclone in towards the center. Once it cleared, everyone saw Ichigo, donning his Hollow mask again and sucking up the blue reiatsu. Once the reiatsu cleared up, Ichigo's mask shattered, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain and twitching and shaking as though he was having an epileptic seizure.

"Kurosaki-kun! KUROSAKI-KUUUUNNNN!" Orihime yelled while trying to escape from her position, seeing her beloved in great pain. Tesla did not even budge and simply said "You're wasting your time woman. He's gone if he did what I think he did." as he held on to her. "What did he do?" Orihime asked frantically. "He tried to eat an Arrancar's reiatsu. That goddamned baka! Doing that is like swallowing a miniature shark live. It will writhe and squirm and do everything it can to try to get out, cutting you from the inside out by its teeth and its denticles. That guy's a goner." Nnoitra sneered as he started walking back towards the palace.

Meanwhile, in Ichigo's inner world, Ichigo found himself facing a white panther-like creature. "I am Pantera, Grimmjow's Zanpakuto. I see you tried to eat me and, though my master gave you permission, I won't submit until you prove your worth. En garde!" and he charged at Ichigo. Ichigo drew his sword and tried to block, but Pantera just bypassed his defense and slashed his back with his claws. Ichigo turned to intercept Pantera, but found himself outmaneuvered again as Pantera leaped at him from the side. Ichigo, acting more on instinct than volition, spun in a circle slashing with his sword. Pantera managed to dodge the sword strike, but found himself kicked in the side by a leg that Ichigo kicked up once he saw Pantera evade the attack.

'He's good. The sword was just a diversion for the real attack.' Pantera thought as he got back up. 'It WON'T work again though!' he swore as he lunged forward, but Ichigo was ready: He bent his back leg, dropping himself and letting Pantera glide above him, then he straightened his back leg, pushing himself up and stabbing Pantera in the stomach. Then, he flipped himself over, pinning Pantera to the "ground" under his sword, and kicked Pantera in the chest, propelling himself upward, and getting ready to punch while diving.

Just as he was about to connect, Pantera roared right in Ichigo's ear, causing agonizing ringing, disorienting Ichigo temporarily. In his transient disarray, he knocked over Zangetsu, fearing Pantera who pounced on Ichigo and tried to bite the throat. He never got the chance as Ichigo kicked him away, got back up and grabbed Zangetsu, holding it horizontal as Pantera prepared another charge.

Instead of leaping into the air as he did before, Pantera stayed low to prevent Ichigo from impaling him from beneath. This seemed to work as Ichigo was knocked down and Pantera attempted another bite to the throat. This time though, Ichigo disappeared, confusing him for a slight minute, reappeared above Pantera, and thrust downward, this time pinning Pantera against the ground flat as a pancake.

"Looks like you're worthy after all." Pantera said as he began to disintegrate like Hichigo did after their last fight. "But be warned. If you lose your resolve, I'll take over, so do me and Grimmjow a favor: DON'T get yourself killed by Nnoitra or anyone else weak!" and with that he vanished. Then, reiatsu of multiple colors, from red to blue to black, began to coalesce. "What the hell is this?" Ichigo asked as he watched the reiatsu begin to form a shape.

"That's all the Hollow reiatsu you have acquired." a voice answered. Ichigo turned and saw an approximately thirty year old man with an unkempt beard and wavy black hair approach. "Zangetsu." he said. "The Hollow reiatsu from your Inner Hollow, Grimmjow, and Hiena are amalgamating together, like when you ate Hiena. This time though the resulting consolidation is much stronger and more potent than your body can contain. Your body's solution to this overwhelming Hollow reiatsu will be to store it in a separate container." Zangetsu explained.

"A separate... container?" Ichigo asked confused. "Indeed. The next time you don your Hollow mask may be the last time you use that method. After that, you will operate more akin to an Arrancar, who store their reiatsu in a sword. The sword in question will materialize after you change back from your new Hollow form." Zangetsu continued. Ichigo felt his eyes widen as he felt fascination and confusion consume him. "You said I may not use the mask ever again. So... you don't know?" he asked. Zangetsu nodded. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. The mask depends on how much reiatsu is stored inside the new container. If only the surplus, then you may use the mask again, or if all of it, then no. Enough of this. Orihime is waiting for you, so you better get back and finish what you began." Zangetsu finished as Ichigo left for the real world.

Back in the real world, Ichigo finally relaxed and stood up. He looked up and saw Tesla holding Orihime and trying to drag her away. Nnoitra, tired of her resistance, stopped, turned around, and walked over to her, a perverted smile on his face. Although he was too far away to hear, Ichigo could still read their thoughts via his telepathy. 'If the woman wants to resist, fine. I'll just have to use more... animalistic means to get her along.' he heard Nnoitra as he reached Orihime. That was too much for Ichigo to handle and he yelled out "NNOITRAAA!", drawing everyone's attention to him.

While Orihime looked elated that Ichigo was all right, Nnoitra was annoyed to the extreme. "You're STILL alive? No matter I'll just have to kill you." he said as he charged. Ichigo gave a smile like Grimmjow's as he ripped his hands across his face and a massive burst of reiatsu engulfed him. The burst was so large, Nnoitra instinctively backed away in fear of being crushed by it. "What... IS... he?" Nnoitra asked as he watched the show.

Meanwhile, Ichigo found himself in a LOT of pain. He maybe have been in pain during the battle, but that was largely confined to one area at a time. Now, his ENTIRE body was screaming as it was compressed in some places, stretched in others, and to top it off, his whole body felt as though molten metal was being poured into him.

When the reiatsu cleared, Nnoitra, Tesla, and Orihime could only gap in awe and shock as Ichigo emerged from the cloud. "WHAT...IS...HE? they all asked.

Well, there's Chapter Eight. Please review. Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9: The Seeds of Harem

Again I do not own Bleach, nor do I make any claim to. Tite Kubo is the only one who can.

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Along with the Disclaimer, I want to add something I forgot to mention in the last chapter. When Grimmjow roared, Ichigo smelled a pleasant relaxing scent. This is based on the mythological creature Panther, which was said to feast, sleep for three days, then roar, which released a scent that drew prey to it.

The figure that emerged from the reiatsu suddenly vanished, as though into midair. Nnoitra looked left, right, even up, trying to find him. "Where the HELL ARE YOU, DAMN IT?" he yelled out in frustration. "YAAAHHHHH!" Tesla screamed, bringing Nnoitra around and saw that Tesla was standing over fifteen meters away from where he was, clutching his arm which was hanging by a THREAD of skin. Nnoitra then looked to where Orihime was, only to find the mystery figure standing by her, holding her protectively.

The first thought that crossed everyone's minds was that Grimmjow had been resurrected in his second release state, perhaps for revenge for the figure had the same basic body shape, arm and leg blades, and claws. A closer look proved that theory false as this figure was covered in reddish fur with black spots, had a white stripe on its chest, had a slightly longer, thicker neck, was much more muscular than Grimmjow, had white gauntlets on its hands, feet, calves, and forelimbs, not black; fang-like implements on its elbows and knees along with its claws and blades, and its tail was tapered to a point, not rounded.

"Orihime-chan, are you all right?" the figure said, in Ichigo's voice, making Orihime blush as she turned around. The next minute everyone realized that it WAS Ichigo, making them all widen their eyes wondering 'What HAPPENED?'. Orihime looked at Ichigo, her beloved savior, and found herself scared half out of her mind. While his body made a major transformation, his face remained mostly the same, though it still underwent certain changes: the teeth were sharper and the canines were longer, much like Grimmjow's, the ears were very similar to Grimmjow's but with orange fur and pointed more upwards, and the eyes were like when he donned his Hollow mask: black with yellow irises. Finally, the mask remnants were more like a white hyena head with the muzzle and most of the cheeks broken off.

Orihime, still blushing, just nodded in response to Ichigo's question, wondering 'What happened to you Ichigo?'. He just smiled and said "It's all right Orihime-chan. I'll explain everything in due time, but now I've business to attend to.". He then gently pulled her behind him and said "Please wait a moment." and charged. Nnoitra just grinned and heaved his weapon up, preparing a downward strike as Ichigo charged. He never got the chance as Ichigo punched Nnoitra's chest, breaking three ribs and puncturing the lung.

'IMPOSSIBLE!" Nnoitra thought as he doubled over, straining to breath. 'I have THE strongest Hierro of all the Espada! And yet he cut through it like BUTTER!'. "'Strongest Hierro' my ASS!" Ichigo said as he attacked Nnoitra again, this time slashing him with Tensa Zangetsu. Nnoitra ducked, avoiding the sword, only to find himself punched in the temple, seeing stars. Then he felt a brutal stab in his side as Ichigo knee-kicked him, then he pulled his leg across and against Nnoitra, sending him spinning while cutting and shredding deep into him.

Nnoitra, dizzy from the spinning, punch to the head, and lack of oxygen, collapsed to the ground, only his sword keeping him up. He struggled to stand up where he looked at Ichigo, who just grinned like Grimmjow and asked "Is that IT? Is this ALL the Fifth Espada can do?". Nnoitra, enraged by his condescending attitude, managed to stand up and use sonido to get behind Ichigo, where he slashed downward...only to watch Ichigo stop his strike...with a FINGER!

'What the HELL?' Nnoitra thought as Ichigo threw his sword away, wrapped his tail around Nnoitra's side, and punched him with a clawed fist in the gut, pulling up to the solar plexus. Ichigo then lifted Nnoitra with his claws, jumped, and pinned Nnoitra to the ground, digging deeper into him up to the spine. Nnoitra, desperate, pulled a leg up and tried to kick Ichigo away, only to find a knee-fang dug deep into his leg... right into the common femoral vein no less! 'Not good.' Nnoitra thought as he felt his blood draining away from all the wounds inflicted by Ichigo.

In what may have been his last chance, Nnoitra stuck his tongue out and start charging a Cero. Just then, a voice rang out "Sumasshu, Beluga (Smash, Tusked Armored Warrior)!" followed by a JUST noticeable burst of reiatsu, piquing Ichigo's curiosity and making him look up. He saw a large minotaur-like creature, with a large, muscular, tattooed chest, and a mask made from a warthog, complete with tusks, on its face. The figure charged at Ichigo, yelling "Nnoitra-sama!" at the top of its lungs. Nnoitra yelled out "You IDIOT! Run Tesla!" but to no effect as Ichigo stood up, ran toward the figure, and disappeared just prior to a collision.

'Where did he go?"Tesla thought, only to feel a clawed fist punch into his gut and rip across to the side. Ichigo then jumped up onto Tesla's back, and said "You interrupted my fun.". Growling, Ichigo punched Tesla's mask, shattering it and and piercing into Tesla's face. "By the way, there's something Grimmjow forgot to tell me about his claws that Pantera told me: they can grow." Ichigo said as the claws lengthened, reaching all the way through Tesla's head, then he pulled down, slicing down the middle.

Tesla, though barely conscious, watched as his sole Fraccion member was almost bifurcated and realized 'He's been **TOYING** with me!'. Ichigo turned his attention to Nnoitra who stood paralyzed with shock and walked over. "Well, well, well, what will you do?" he asked with mock concern. "If you wish to surrender, I'll be leave right now. Cause if you can't fight anymore, then I'll just leave." he finished. 'Surrender? Don't FUCKING pity me!' Nnoitra thought, enraged, as he stood up with TREMENDOUS effort, yellow reiatsu emanating from his body. "Your answer's no." Ichigo said. "I was hoping you'd say that." as Nnoitra heaved his weapon and yelled "Inore, Santa Teresa (Pray, Sacred Praying Mantis)!".

A massive burst of yellow reiatsu poured from the upper crescent of his weapon, engulfing him and kicking up a miniature sandstorm. The sandstorm nearly buried Nel, forcing Orihime to run over to her to prevent her from suffocating while Ichigo just stood where he was, untroubled by the reiatsu or the storm. Once the storm died down, Ichigo could see Nnoitra in his released state: he had four arms, each coated in carapace with clawed hands and holding a huge scythe, a crescent shaped pair of horns on his head, insect armor on his chest, now void of his recent wounds, and a golden mark on his face. Also, his Hollow hole was exposed, in the left eye with teeth ringed around it, making Ichigo think 'I wondered where that was.'.

Nnoitra, now with his characteristic smile back on, said "What's wrong Shinigami? Lost your confidence?". Ichigo just shark-grinned and answered "Nice reiatsu! This might be fun after all!", leaving Nnoitra confused as he charged. He swung Tensa Zangetsu, only to be parried by two of Nnoitra's scythes, and slashed by the other two. The attack was blocked by his upgraded armor though and only blew around some air. Ichigo then brought his arm blades to bear, exposing Nnoitra's chest and kicking forth, pointing his foot claws at the gut... only to be blocked by ANOTHER arm.

Ichigo looked and saw that Nnoitra had grown another arm both below the first two on his right side, and was NOT letting go. "**NOW**, we're talking!' Ichigo thought as he pushed down on the hand that held, jumping up and slashing down, using kendo to maximize the force. Nnoitra attempted to parry the attack, but was pushed to his knees in the sand due to sheer force. Ichigo then flipped over Nnoitra's blades, landing behind him and slashing out...only to find two blades blocking his attack. He looked up, and saw that Nnoitra was looking at him... having turned his head a freaking **180** degrees!

'What the Hell?' Ichigo thought, but then remembered biology class when they covered insects. 'Wait a minute! This guys a Hollow mantis, and the Praying Mantis can turn its head 180 degrees, so why not this guy.' he continued as he kicked at Nnoitra's head, only to be blocked again by another blade. 'Looks like I'll have to get a little faster.' Ichigo thought as he prepared another attack, kicking with his left foot. Just as Nnoitra blocked it, Ichigo pulled his leg in, lifted it up, and released it again, hitting Nnoitra squarely in the face. The attack was coupled with a jab from the fang above the knee in Nnoitra's neck and a slash across Nnoitra's chest from Ichigo's foot claws. While all this was happening, Ichigo brought his right leg up and stabbed Nnoitra with his other fang, sunk his claws into Nnoitra's back, and jumped into the air.

Ichigo landed a few meters in front of Nnoitra and looked back to assess the damage. Nnoitra was bleeding freely and was still stuck in the sand. 'He's still stuck in the sand? This won't be much fun then.' Ichigo thought as he crouched for another attack. 'If he can't get out, then I'll "help" him.' Ichigo continued as he charged. He jumped just as Nnoitra slashed out, but instead of landing behind Nnoitra, Ichigo landed in front of him, between his face and his scythes. He bent down, said "You look like you could use some help.", and he punched from below, rocketing him up into the air and through ten red towers.

The two spectators, Orihime and Nel, felt their eyebrows rocket upwards at this latest feat of power exhibited by Ichigo. Ichigo then disappeared, reappearing above Nnoitra and kicked down, slamming him into the ground. Ichigo dove down, preparing to finish the job when he saw six scythes closing around him, two from above, two from below, and one to each side. 'THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!' Ichigo thought as he continued, and disappeared at the last second, outrunning the blades and reappearing before Nnoitra, and hit him with an all-out barrage: kicks, punches, jabs, and slashes, all too quick for Nnoitra to counter, and too powerful for Nnoitra to stop.

A full minute, Ichigo reappeared behind Nnoitra, and turned to look at the damage. Nnoitra had lost half his arms, with one arm missing its hand, his armor, horns, and teeth around his Hollow hole were shattered, and he was covered in so much blood he looked as though he emerged from a giant tank of French wine after a three-month long soak. "So much for him." Ichigo said as he began to walk back to Orihime...only to turn back around upon hearing a barely alive though very angry Nnoitra yell "Wait just a FUCKING minute!" from behind him.

Nnoitra was standing up by pure force of will as his legs seemed to be made of jelly and his two remaining scythes had only half their shafts left. "I can STILL fight!" Nnoitra yelled as surprisingly his severed arms began to grow back along with the scythes that Ichigo threw away or destroyed. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and said "Look Nnoitra, I have more important things to do than fight with you." exasperatedly. "Get stronger, and then I'll fight you." Ichigo finished as he resumed walking away. '"Get stronger"? Everyone fucking dumps their pity on me, and they have no idea how much they hurt me. "Mercy" is something you'll never see from me. Strong, weak, baby, animal..it makes no difference! I'll kill them all in one blow!' Nnoitra thought as he slowly but steadily ran after Ichigo, who just let out a burst of reiatsu that knocked Nnoitra onto his butt.

Ichigo, now annoyed, Flashed out and landed on top of Nnoitra, pressing firmly on Nnoitra's wounds. "Listen and listen GOOD." Ichigo began after Nnoitra stopped screaming in pain. "I'd rather oblige your wish to die in battle, but I've better enemies to fight than you. I'm gonna get up now, and you can try and continue the fight, or you can wait for me after all this is through, and I'll grant your death wish. The choice is yours." Ichigo finished as he got up and walked away for the third time.

'He's giving me another chance?' Nnoitra thought bewildered at the thought. 'He would really wait for me? Sounds stupid to leave an enemy behind, and how do I know he won't cheat me in the end?' Nnoitra debated with himself as he watched Ichigo walk away. 'No. He wouldn't do that, he's got that stupid honor thing about him. He would wait for me if I let him go. But still, it's saying the same thing: I'm weak, so much it's pitiful!' he finished, his rage returning.

"I.. AM...NOT...!" Nnoitra yelled as he stood up and charged. "I knew you were gonna do that." Ichigo said, boredom in his voice, as he turned, lifted Tensa Zangetsu and sliced Nnoitra down the middle. 'Finally! I died..the way I wanted!' Nnoitra thought as he felt the blood filling his lungs. 'What a bother.' Ichigo thought as he watched the body disintegrate, with only the scythes remaining. 'Still it was a lot of fun.' he added as he started walking away.

"You enjoyed that fight King!" Hichigo said. "Probably disappointed when it ended, eh King?' he added. After only the cold shoulder from Ichigo he said "OK, OK, I guess you wanna know about your new body.". 'Not really. I just want you to shut your trap.' Ichigo responded to an undignified Hichigo, who just muttered "Things are back to normal I see.". Once Ichigo reached Orihime, he did something that he never did before...he wrapped his tail around her waist and pulled her close, within kissing range, much to her blushing embarrassment.

"Kurosaki-kun...what are you..?" she began, but Ichigo placed a clawed finger on her lips, motioning her to be quiet for the time being. "Hime-chan, I promised to explain everything to you." he said. "Well, now's as good a time as any. On our way to rescue you, I got separated from the others in the Menos Forest where I met and fought Hiena, the Beast of Hueco Mundo. I managed to win, but I was very near death with only one means of survival: I had to eat Hiena's reiatsu.".

"You...had to...?" Orihime began, pale with shock while Nel just fainted. Ichigo nodded and continued: "Yes. I ate her reiatsu. That healed my wounds and kept me alive, but also imbued me with a massive surplus, which began to increase my power and abilities... including my Inner Hollow." and then he stopped due to Orihime's confused look. "I nearly became a Hollow when I regained my Shinigami powers, and ever since I have had a Hollow inside me, and recently, I learned to control and use its powers. You with me so far?" he asked and Orihime responded with a nod.

"OK. When I ate Hiena's reiatsu, some of it reacted with my Inner Hollow and increased his powers as well, as you saw during my fight with Grimmjow. After Nnoitra attacked us, Grimmjow distracted him while I awakened his Zanpakuto, and ate the reiatsu stored in it. After the reiatsu was inside me, I had to fight its manifestation, Pantera, in order to control it, which was during my fit. After that, all the Hollow reiatsu I had amalgamated together, and this body is the result of that." he finished, leaving Orihime bewildered and terrified.

"So you're part Hollow?" Orihime asked, dreading the answer. "Yes, but while my appearance, abilities, and mannerisms may resemble a Hollow, I am not a Hollow if that is what you are afraid of." he said, in the most comforting and reassuring voice he could muster. "If I was a Hollow, why haven't I done something terrible, like eat you or start destroying this place?" he asked, helping Orihime realize that her fears were unfounded. "I understand Ichigo." she said. "If you truly were a Hollow, I would be dead by now. But no matter what happens to you physically you're still Ichigo: the smart, brave man who wants to defend his loved ones." she continued, smiling. Then, Ichigo did something that she'd always hoped for and NEVER thought he'd do.

He kissed her...passionately, on the lips, filled with love and gentleness. At first, she was paralyzed with shock and embarrassment, but found herself giving in and began kissing back, soon forgetting where they were. Soon, their tongues were tied in an elegant dance, swirling around and around each other, grazing over teeth, first in Orihime's mouth, then Ichigo's, which took some practice due to his new canines, then back to her. A few minutes later they broke off the kiss due to lack of oxygen.

"We should do this again when all this is over." Ichigo said, reminding Orihime that they were in Hueco Mundo. "Kurosaki-kun, what do you mean when this is all over? I thought you just came to rescue me." Orihime said, confused at Ichigo's statement. "I mean when this business with Aizen is over, once you and everyone else is safe. As long as Aizen lives, he will be a threat to you, me, our friends, and everyone in Karakura Town." he explained. "Right now, I just want to collect the others and go home, but if I do, then I'll just prolong the inevitable." he continued to Orihime's fearful look. "And don't worry: I won't die, I won't let Aizen escape, and no one else will die on my account." he said, reducing the fearful look in her eye and eliciting a reluctant nod in approval.

"All right, hop on and let's go." Ichigo said as he bent down, lifted Nel, cradled her in his arms, and turned his back to her. Orihime hesitated at first, realizing that he wanted her to ride piggy-back. "Don't worry Hime-chan. You're not heavy and I don't mind." he reassured as Orihime reluctantly hopped on. "Hold on tight," he said as he started running.

Meanwhile, Harribel and her Fraccion sensed Ichigo's reiatsu getting closer and closer, exciting them with the prospect of facing this new being at last. For Sun-Sun, Apache, and Mila-Rose, the only thought going through their heads were "A new opponent! I...can...hardly...wait!' as they stood up and turned towards the source of the reiatsu like a pride of lionesses awaiting a wandering wildebeest. Harribel, in contrast, thought 'My new master awaits.' as she just sat down and waited, like a dog awaiting its master. They soon were rewarded as Ichigo, sensing their thoughts, appeared.

Unfortunately, for Harribel, Ichigo mostly sensed the thoughts of her Fraccion since they outnumbered her and had MUCH noisier thoughts. As such, he was immediately on guard and gave them his trademark glare, which was even more frightening than usual due to his new Hollow mask. That alone sent Harribel's Fraccion back a few paces, but surprisingly Harribel stood her ground, unfazed by his glare. Seeing this, Ichigo smiled, seeing that this person was much stronger than Nnoitra was...that and the fact that this woman was exposed from mid-breast to the top of the hips.

"Who are you?" she asked, respect and anticipation in her voice. Thinking this woman wanted a fight, Ichigo started to answer as a warrior, but was struck dumb when she interrupted. "No, my apologies. It is expected for one to give their name before asking for another's." she said before walking up to Ichigo, unzipping her jacket, revealing her breasts and the remnants of her Hollow mask, a maxilla and mandible of sharp pointed teeth atop her own with what seemed to be whiskers carved the maxilla, and bowed before him, much to the surprise and, in the case of her Fraccion, indignation of those around her.

"What are you DOING?" Ichigo asked, surprised beyond all measure. "I am Tia Harribel, First Espada, and, from this moment on, at your service." she said.

* * *

Well, there's Chapter Nine. As a side note, I'm going back to school in a few days so I will probable not be able to write chapters at the rate I've been at for the last few weeks. Please be patient for I WILL write more chapters. Also, as for Ichigo's new form, I based it on the Beast of Gevaudan, a man-eating canine that terrorized a portion of S. France between 1764 and 1767 and when I saw a statue of it, my impression was that it had the head, neck, and forequarters of a hyena and the abdomen, hindquarters, and tail of a panther. So I combined Hiena with Pantera together.


	10. Chapter 10: New Acquisitions

Again I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so.

Everyone was flabbergasted in the face of Harribel's declaration of service to Ichigo. "Harribel-sama, what the HELL are you saying?" Apache exclaimed, unable to believe her ears. "He... is... a... SHINIGAMI!" Mila-Rose said, enunciating every word as slowly and clearly as possible so as to get the point across. "I can't believe the words are leaving my mouth, but I agree with them." Sun-Sun added, her face as impassive as ever, but a twinge of disbelief present in her voice. "He is a Shinigami, and they are the enemy." she continued as around that moment, Satan found himself once more in need of an electric blanket.

"I am aware of that." Harribel said, still bowing. "But I stand by my decision. I am at your service.". Ichigo, suspicious of her behavior, asked "Why are you doing this?" as he let Orihime down, gave her Nel, and took out his sword. Harribel's Fraccion all took up defensive positions in response, fearing that he would attack their mistress, but Harribel held up a hand, signaling them to stop. "It's perfectly understandable that you would be suspicious. So I'll explain myself." she said. "I..." she began but Ichigo interrupted "If you're gonna explain, please stand up and look me in the eye. That way, I can see if you're lying, and if I decide to fight you, you'll see me coming."

Harribel, seeing that Ichigo was not budging, obliged and stood up. "I am doing this because you are my better." she began, inclining her neck to look Ichigo in the eye. "As my better, you have the right to command me, to battle, to death, even to bed. It is the way of things. Also, you can free me and my Fraccion from Aizen. For killing Aizen, I think my service is a small price to pay." she elaborated and patiently waited for Ichigo to respond while her Fraccion stood ready to fight if something were to happen.

"I believe you Harribel, but I already have a woman." Ichigo said as he pointed to Orihime. Surprisingly, this did not elicit much response from Harribel except a nod of understanding, followed by her turning to Orihime, looking her in the eye, and bowing before her as well. "Ha-Ha-Harribel! Wha-wha-what are you doing?" Orihime stuttered, blushing from the sudden gesture of respect and servitude from the First Espada.

"As you are Ichigo's woman, then my service extends to you as well." she explained, still looking at the ground and sounding as though it was the most obvious thing in the universe. Orihime, after taking a full two minutes to recover, bent down to the ground, and lifted Harribel's head up so they could look at each other in the eye, and asked "Is that what you want, or would you prefer a more equal status?". Harribel quickly responded "The latter." Orihime just smiled and said "Well, if that's what you want, then I won't stop you. Besides there's MORE than enough of him for both of us, and if I kept him all to myself, then I'd probably wouldn't last long due to the power." leaving everyone a little confused and Harribel looking as though she was granted her most desired wish.

After a brief and somewhat awkward moment, Ichigo lowered his sword and relaxed, saying "I figured what you were thinking, both of you. I just wanted to see if you were going to say it or beat around the bush. And I like to hear a person speak their thoughts rather than just think them.". The look on everybody's face was priceless as they processed the knowledge that Ichigo was telepathic and the ramifications of that power. "Don't worry. I only use it in battle and interrogations." he said, wanting to reassure them as he sensed their fear regarding their privacy.

Harribel's Fraccion, however, was not convinced, either of Ichigo's assurances or trustworthiness. They remained on guard, as though they expected Ichigo to start cutting them all down. Ichigo, reading their suspicions, handed his sword to Orihime and started walking toward them., prompting them to draw their respective weapons... only to feel a gust of air and realize that they no longer had their weapons. "If you're wondering where your weapons are, I have them." Ichigo said from behind them, holding each of their weapons in his left hand and tail.

Apache and Mila-Rose, seeing that they were no match for Ichigo, attempted to run for it, even though they knew they could never outrun him. Sun-Sun, in contrast, could only stand in fear as Ichigo started walking towards her, frozen in terror from the power he possessed. "Sun-Sun, what are you DOING?" Apache and Mila-Rose yelled out, fearing for her safety. Despite the constant bickering and teasing, they were actually quite close to each other, like sisters... and what sisters DO NOT bicker or tease? Harribel looked on with apprehension, wondering what would Ichigo do now that her Fraccion had drawn their weapons against him. Even Orihime, could not help asking 'He wouldn't hurt her...right?', for though she knew him for a very long time, she wondered if the Hollow reiatsu he ate would not have a detrimental effect on him, like increased aggression or bloodlust.

But Ichigo stopped just before Sun-Sun, who was trembling in fear, and on the verge of tears, much to the surprise of Mila-Rose and Apache who just watched, frozen in shock and dread as Ichigo just stood there...watching her, but with concern and kindness, not bloodlust, in his eyes. "Tell me: if I wanted to hurt you wouldn't I have done so already?" he asked, bringing Sun-Sun to look him in the eye. "I've proven to be much faster and stronger than you or your partners, so if I wanted, I could hurt you at any time." he continued, and Sun-Sun nodded in comprehension. "Well, since I haven't hurt you yet there can be only one conclusion: I have no intent of harming you, right?" he finished, and Sun-Sun nodded in eager understanding, and now gently wiping away tears of relief.

He then looked to Harribel and the rest of her Fraccion and said "I can understand your fear and mistrust of Shinigami. They hunt and destroy Hollows on a daily basis and they do so cavalierly.". Seeing the honesty of his words and the sense that they brought him pain or regret surprised them all, for they could not believe that a Shinigami could feel for a Hollow. "But, you've lived most of your lives here in Hueco Mundo, and Shinigami NEVER come here, not to my knowledge. So I'm curious: why fear Shinigami to begin with?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's because the few Shinigami that do come here are a particular kind." Sun-Sun replied. "They are the ones near the bottom of the hierarchy who want a quick way to move up, and we're that way. I can give you a few examples: Sokakai, Aruga, Yakiro, Tsumotsu, Raiken, Chinka, Aizen, and particularly Tousen.". The last two names caught Ichigo off guard for a moment. 'They've been here BEFORE?' but he realized 'Of course they have. How else could they have established their base so quickly without key up-to-date info.'. "With all these Shinigami hunters coming here, it was easy for us to develop our fear of Shinigami. In addition to their hunting us for sport, they often enjoyed hunting us in violent, sadistic ways." she continued, gluing Ichigo in place the whole time. 'I knew that Shinigami were flawed, but never this bad.' he thought, only to catch himself wondering something horrible: 'Maybe Shinigami, not Hollows started the war.'.

He did not have time to ponder over these thoughts as Sun-Sun continued her explanation. "To survive, we started congregating into groups, like our Fraccion or Barragan's "kingdom", and that worked for a while, but the hunters, or poachers if you will, only found it more fun and took up the challenge. We had to grow stronger and smarter and for a time it was simply an arms race between Hollows and Shinigami. Then along came Aizen and...you know." she trailed off, and Ichigo recognized that she was referring to his treacherous, manipulative scheming.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me for a very simple reason: I'm not a Shinigami. In fact, if anything, I'm more akin to you Arrancar" he said, surprising everyone. "But...how...?" Apache and Mila-Rose began, but Ichigo held up a claw to silence. "I first became a Shinigami when Rukia gave me her powers and I accidentally took it all. For a time, that worked, then Byakuya and Renji appeared and took her back, fatally wounding me and depriving me of my powers." he paused, giving them time to process this info while they stayed glued in position.

"When I learned that Rukia was to be executed, I set out to rescue her, but I needed to regain my powers." he resumed, keeping them all glued to their seats. "I took a training course from Kisuke, and in the process a Hollow was born inside my soul. After Aizen's betrayal and the appearance of the Arrancar, I learned how to control my Hollow from the Vizards, Shinigami that obtained Hollow powers. So you see, I am not all that different from you except in origins: you are Hollows who gained Shinigami abilities, and I am vice-versa." he finished.

That last statement shook everyone out of their fixated state as they realized 'He's right! He's NOT a Shinigami...not entirely, so to compare him to them would be fallacious. In fact, he's more like us than he is to a Shinigami...nowadays anyway. Furthermore, he's faster than any of us, so if he wanted, he could have killed us WHENEVER he wanted, and we're STILL here.'. Harribel and her Fraccion began to relax as Sun-Sun calmed down and Ichigo returned their weapons. For a moment, they all relaxed as they took a better look at Harribel's new master, thinking along the lines of 'I wonder if he is as good in bed as he is in battle.' and 'How hard is he without that armor on?'.

That moment of relaxation was ended when Ichigo said "All right, let's go.", taking everyone by surprise. A moment later they realized that he was referring to Aizen, which brought feral smiles to the faces of Harribel's Fraccion as they thought 'A good fight!'. "Harribel, you take care of any Espada we meet on the way, and the Terrific Trio will focus on the Fraccion members." he barked as he waited for Orihime to climb onto him, only to hear Apache and Mila-Rose yell out "What was that? Who are you giving us orders?" while Sun-Sun just sighed in exasperation.

"You're Harribel's Fraccion, so you'll follow her anywhere, right?" he asked, and they nodded in response. "And she has pledged her loyalty to me, so **she **will follow **me**, isn't that right?" he continued as the Fraccion nodded and Harribel humbly bowed her head in confirmation. "Ergo, you'll follow me whether I give you orders or not, so I figured just cut out the middle man, or woman in this case." he finished, leaving them to process his explanation, and fuming after they finished.

"Still, we'd prefer if you included us in who we fight! We are not your servants!" Apache continued as she ran up to him, yelling and spitting in his face. Ichigo just wiped his face, sneered and said "And if I don't, what will you do?". "THIS!" Apache yelled as her foot struck up with incredible speed...perhaps sonido and aimed her toes right at his face...only to watch her leg fly up and miss. Then there was a quick flurry of hands followed by a shriek of agony.

"HOLYYYY KAMIIIII!" she yelled as she found herself turned into an Arrancar pretzel. Ichigo then smirked and said "Now you won't be doing that again, will you Apache?" as he held her up by her butt, a little more firmly than was necessary, and watched her squirm from the pain and indignation. "Now are you gonna be a good girl?" Ichigo asked, prompting Mila-Rose to sneer "Or am I gonna have to do this again?". Enraged, Apache tried to respond, only to fall back with a whimper.

"My, my." Sun-Sun mused over, her eyes held in state of surprised amusement. "I had no idea you were so flexible." and Apache turned so red with fury you could swear that steam was coming from her ears.

"Ok, OK I'll be good. Just get me OUTTA THIS!" she yelled, every word causing her pain. Ichigo nodded and proceeded to untwist her, with many a moan and whimper on the way. As soon as she was untwisted, she felt a new pain, but one that left a very good feeling. She turned and saw Ichigo massaging her. "I owe you this after that bout of pain." he said, earning a smile of gratitude and perhaps a blush from Apache. "And after all I can't have one of my servants in constant pain, can I?" he added, turning Apache even redder with fury and earning a laugh from Mila-Rose and a snicker from Sun-Sun.

Just as Ichigo was about to laugh he felt a nearby reiatsu...weak but unmistakable. 'Chad!' he realized as he turned to the source. 'That's right! I felt his reiatsu dwindle before I fought Ulquiorra! Damn it!' he thought as he moved to the source and barked out "Hime-chan, Harribel, everyone this way!". It took them five minutes to reach Chad since they had to slow down for Orihime and Apache, still grumbling about the pain across her body. "Man that hurt! Why did he have to stop so suddenly? That really helped." she murmured angrily, making Sun-Sun and Mila-Rose snicker at her discomfort, which only made her more furious.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief as they found Chad, injured but alive. "Hime-chan, take care of Chad." Ichigo said, who turned to finding out where they were and who Chad had fought while Orihime began healing Chad's injuries. "I wonder who could have done this to Chad?" Ichigo asked to no one in particular. "My guess would be Nnoitra." Harribel interjected. "The tracks match his distinctive footwear, and the wounds were caused by a hacking weapon." she went on as Ichigo listened and observed their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun leaned down over Chad, observing and commenting on his impressive size and power, exhibited by his muscles and his stamina. "His muscles are massive." Apache said, struggling to keep herself from collapsing again. "His stamina is just as impressive." Mila-Rose added. "Indeed. For him to survive a fight with Nnoitra of all people." Sun-Sun finished their train of thought. For the third time that day, Satan found himself in desperate need of a furnace and moaned "Not again! Stop!".

He did not have to wait long as Apache said "But he's no match for me. I'd clobber him in less than a minute!". "You? Ha!" Mila-Rose retorted. "You can barely WALK let alone FIGHT!", and Sun-Sun sighed once more in exasperation murmuring "Not again." as Apache felt her veins in her temple throb. "What was that?" she yelled, crouching down to attack, only to scream out in pain and collapse whimpering. "See what I mean." Mila-Rose sneered as Apache glared bloody murder at her.

A groan interrupted their mental battle as Chad started to rise and attempted to take a defensive stance when he realized that three Arrancar women were watching him. 'Wait a minute. Why did they wait for me to wake up?' he wondered as he looked around. "It's all right Chad." Ichigo said, sensing Chad's growing worry and confusion. 'That's Ichigo all right, from his voice and reiatsu,' Chad thought as he turned toward Ichigo. 'But what the heck happened to him?' and his eyes widened as he saw Ichigo in his new form.

"I know that you're wondering why I look like this." Ichigo began, much to Chad's surprise and confusion. "So I might as well tell you." he sighed as he prepared to explain himself...only to hear a new mind yell out 'Ichigo!', followed by a massive burst of reiatsu...a very familiar reiatsu.

He turned around, and felt himself filled with joy when he saw Kenpachi, the wild Captain of Squad 11. "Kenpachi!" he yelled flashing a feral grin at the spiky-haired giant. "Ichigo! I knew it. That orange mane of yours is unmistakable, no matter its length. But what have you been doing since we last met?" he said as he walked towards Ichigo. "I was just about to explain when I felt your presence." he answered.

Seeing something was amiss he added "Where's your sugar-addicted Lieutenant?". "She hopped off a short while ago to do a perimeter sweep. She'll be back soon enough." Kenpachi answered. Ichigo nodded and said "Well, provided we're not interrupted again, I guess I'll explain myself.". "During our journey we were attacked by a sand Hollow called Runuganga, who formed a sand pit that swallowed us and we fell into Menos Forest.". "There's a forest of Menos?" Kenpachi said, amazed by the thought. "But where-?" he began, but Ichigo quickly responded "It's under the sand.", leaving Kenpachi even more amazed.

"Anyway, while we were falling I was separated from the group and landed in a different part of the Forest." Ichigo continued as everyone, especially Harribel and her Fraccion, listened in. "When I came to my senses I felt a reiatsu so huge it made yours look puny in comparison.", and Kenpachi's eyes widened in awe and a flicker of fear. "I managed to look at the source of the reiatsu, a female humanoid hyena named Hiena Carnear, the Beast of Hueco Mundo. We fought a largely one-sided fight due to her strength and abilities, but I managed to win." he stopped to let the others sink in this new-found knowledge. "But, I was so weak and injured that I was very near death. My only hope to survive was to ...eat her reiatsu." he finished and everyone's eyes, even Sun-Sun's and Harribel's, widened in disbelief and Chad gasped in shock, the first time anyone ever observed him doing that.

After a moment of quiet anticipation and mental processing, Ichigo continued. "I only meant to eat enough to heal my wounds, but the taste was...MMM...EXQUISITE! So I ate the whole thing, meaning that I had a huge surplus of reiatsu left over, which began to react with my reiatsu and my Hollow's reiatsu." he stopped when almost everyone drew blank stares. "Before I went to the Soul Society I had to regain my Shinigami powers, so I turned to Kisuke, who put me through strenuous training, during which I nearly Hollowfied, and while I managed to stop the process, a Hollow was created inside my soul. After I returned I met the Vizards, who helped me learn to control my Hollow and its powers." he explained, though their blank stares were replaced with pure confusion.

"Back to recent events." Ichigo continued. "The surplus reiatsu allowed me to augment my Shinigami powers and that of my Hollow, but it also altered its appearance. So when I Hollowfied, I looked similar to this but without the legs, tail, arm and leg blades, and a white hyena head instead of a helmet. After a brief but very entertaining fight with Ulquiorra, I had an even more enjoying fight with Grimmjow. After I won, we were attacked by Nnoitra and beaten to a bloody pulp. Grimmjow gave his life to distract Nnoitra so I could unleash the reiatsu in his Zanpakuto, Pantera, and consume that as well. After an intense and very painful internal battle with Pantera, the reiatsu of Pantera, Hiena, and my inner Hollow amalgamated into a new form, this form. I then fought and killed Nnoitra and picked up these lovely ladies as new partners in my war with Aizen." he finished, much to the surprise and amazement of his audience.

After a moment of awed silence, Kenpachi sported a wide feral grin and said "I look forward to seeing your abilities in battle!". Ichigo sported a matching grin and answered "To tell you the truth I want to know the full extent of my abilities, and we both know the best way to find out.". "FIGHT!" they said simultaneously and started stretching. "I-I-Ichigo!" Orihime stuttered as she realized they were getting ready to fight. "This is not the time to pick a fight! We-!" she tried to continue but felt herself restrained by a hand. She turned and saw Harribel who said "We cannot continue until Apache is ready, and that will take time. And it would help if Ichigo knew the full extent of his powers in the upcoming fight. Besides, it couldn't hurt for them to have some fun.". Orihime, seeing the wisdom of her words, conceded and sat herself down next to the First Espada and her Fraccion holding Nel in her arms.

Ichigo and Kenpachi took places about five meters from each other and twenty meters from the spectators and drew their swords. A split second of calm lasted, and then they charged at each other. Kenpachi drew his sword high and slashed down, only to be parried by Ichigo's left arm blade, giving Ichigo a split-second opportunity to attack Kenpachi in the gut with a right claw, but due to his huge reiatsu and a last-second lean to his left, Kenpachi only received four parallel scratches. Briefly frustrated, Ichigo kicked with a knee-fang at Kenpachi, who jumped up and slashed downward with both hands.

At the last second, Ichigo sidestepped Kenpachi's sword, climbed up it like stairs, and kicked Kenpachi across the face and ax-kicked downward with his foot claws, and kicked upward across the face with the foot blade. Surprisingly, Kenpachi remained relatively unfazed! 'What the hell?' Ichigo thought as he assessed the damage. Then he felt an unexpectedly massive surge in reiatsu, and the answer hit him like Hiyori's sandals. "Let me guess: I knocked your eyepatch off." Ichigo said, feral excitement glowing in his voice. "That's right!" Kenpachi answered, reflecting the same animalistic excitement as Ichigo.

"Now the real fight begins!" Ichigo said as he flashed and reappeared in front of Kenpachi and slashed across with Tensa Zangetsu. "Right again!" Kenpachi answered as he blocked and counterattacked. "For this is how warriors SHOULD fight!" he continued as Ichigo was left unfazed. "AT...FULL...POWER!" Ichigo and Kenpachi yelled simultaneously as they continued their fight. Ichigo recovered from Kenpachi's counterattack and launched a Cero attack, but Kenpachi ducked and punched Ichigo in the ribs in an incredible display of flexibility and agility. Unsurprisingly, Kenpachi felt his knuckles begin to bleed from the strength of Ichigo's Hierro, but Ichigo actually felt pain in his ribs and nearly doubled over.

Kenpachi, recognizing this moment of weakness, attacked again, thrusting with his sword, but Ichigo ducked while spinning on one foot like a Cossack dancer. While spinning he kicked out a leg, brandishing the blade on his calf, and hit Kenpachi on the leg, drawing blood and knocking the behemoth down. Ichigo then stopped his spin and jumped up, hit Kenpachi under the chin and rocketing him upward. Ichigo then flashed up and kicked Kenpachi in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and drawing more blood from his foot claws. Kenpachi landed with the force of a meteor, opening up a crater, kicking up a small sandstorm and virtually burying the spectators.

A minute past without much movement, save the audience trying to dig themselves out, when Ichigo broke out his barking laugh and yelled "C'mon Kenpachi, I KNOW that wasn't enough to do you in, so come out!". When he did not get an answer, Ichigo flew down into the crater, when he veered right just as a sword thrust out and cut down his armored skin. After coming somewhat to a stop in a rather bumpy way, he turned and felt his eyes widen as Kenpachi stood before him, without so much as a scratch. Not only that but he seemed to glow with a metallic sheen, as though he had somehow become part-machine.

"What have YOU been doing since we last fought?" Ichigo asked, amazed by what he saw. "I've been learning the name of my Zanpakuto." Kenpachi responded, with uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice, making Ichigo eyes widen to a degree near impossible. He was further astounded by the smile that Kenpachi gave as he continued: a warm, kind smile, not his trademark feral grin. "Kinzoku Akuma." (Metal Demon). 'That explains the metallic look to him.' Ichigo thought, and cracked Kenpachi's trademark feral grin. "NOW things are getting interesting." he said as he charged again.

Kenpachi slashed but Ichigo dodged, sending himself into a spin, and opening his back for Ichigo to attack. Just as Ichigo threw a punch, he heard Kenpachi say 'Now kick!' and jumped back, narrowly dodging a back kick from Kenpachi. 'He's gotten faster since our last fight.' Ichigo thought as he stopped and stood about ten meters back. 'Maybe that's his Zanpakuto: it makes him like a machine. If that's the case, I bet his strength and toughness have also been augmented. THIS will be quite a challenge.' and he charged again.

Kenpachi grinned as he watched Ichigo charge in again, and prepared for his attack. Ichigo stopped in front of Kenpachi and struck with a right claw, but just as Kenpachi was about to block, Ichigo ducked, jumped up, forcing Kenpachi to follow, and punched Kenpachi in the face. Just as Ichigo surmised, Kenpachi's skin had the hardness of ten-inch steel shielding. However, even with that armor, Kenpachi's head was still a vulnerable target as he was sent flying across the sand, though the force of the punch left Ichigo's knuckles bleeding.

'Guess I can't keep doing that for too long.' Ichigo thought as he watched Kenpachi jump back up to his feet and land before Ichigo. Surprisingly, Ichigo's punch left a bruise on Kenpachi's face, albeit a very small one, and all Kenpachi could say was "Ichigo, 's that all?". Ichigo just grinned and said "I'm just getting warmed up." and held up his hand, which had now fully healed. 'But if my wounds regenerate that fast, I guess it doesn't matter.' he thought, and soon heard a condescending "Tsk tsk tsk" in response.

'What is it NOW?' he asked impatiently. "Watch it Kingy, or I won't talk." Hichigo answered. 'Explain to me how that's a problem?' Ichigo asked perplexed. "If I don't talk, then you won't get my advice, which is pretty damned important if you wanna use your full power." Hichigo groaned as though he was stating the obvious. 'All right, sorry. So spill it, or I'll kick your ass.' Ichigo yelled exasperated. "All right. Here's an idea I had. When I was in my Hollow form, I had the ability to grow an extra appendage and use it to crush my enemies." Hichigo said, leaving Ichigo fascinated and perplexed.

"I don't know if you got that particular ability, but you may have a derivative of it, like stretching out your claws or your arm." he continued, changing Ichigo's mood from fascinated to incredulous. "Can't hurt to try." Hichigo added, sensing Ichigo's unbelief. 'All right.' Ichigo conceded and focused on his claws, trying to will them into growing longer by half their length. To his surprise, they soon extended by just that amount. 'Cool!' Ichigo thought as he shrunk them back to normal length. He then tried his arm, which also extended, along with the blades and fang, exactly the length he wanted.

'What else could I extend?' Ichigo thought as he looked over his body. "Anything you want: legs, tail, feet. And it may not end with just that. Maybe you've got my ability after all, or another derivative. I don't know, but we'll find out." Hichigo answered, and returned to watching from the sidelines. Ichigo grinned as he started another charge, but when he was ten meters from Kenpachi, he doubled the length of his feet and foot claws as he ran, greatly enhancing his speed and taking Kenpachi completely by surprise, allowing Ichigo to make a small jump, and slashed with his foot claws, which he extended just after leaving the ground, like a Velociraptor, leaving deep gashes in Kenpachi's chest.

The attack didn't end there as Ichigo then followed up with a knee-fang attack, climbed up Kenpachi's chest, and slashed his way down the back. For the finale, Ichigo slashed across Kenpachi's back with his sword, arm and leg blades, and claws. Even then, Kenpachi refused to fall, and even seemed to stand straighter than ever, leaving Ichigo in awe at Kenpachi's stamina. This moment of hesitation cost Ichigo a lot as Kenpachi, with his new fluid, machine speed turned around and started punching and slashing at Ichigo. The first round of attacks was so swift and brutal, Ichigo did not have time to react at all. The second round was largely the same, though more because Ichigo still had not healed than because he did not have time.

"Come on King. You're being pathetic here." Hichigo sneered at Ichigo's turn of fortunes. That insult gave Ichigo the boost he needed to start counterattacking, just as the third round of Kenpachi's attacks began. Ichigo punched, kicked, and slashed with equal ferocity and speed as Kenpachi, with each

trying to oust the other in speed or power. Eventually, their attacks and counterattacks became so fast all their audience could see was a blur...at best, and their reiatsu began to increase, until it became so thick and dense, it began affecting everything around them, including their audience, now thirty meters away.

"Some...one...stop...them...PLEASE!" Apache groaned as a feeling of vertigo began to set into her. "I know!" Sun-Sun responded, her face beginning to match her hair in color, and her eyes starting to lose focus. Surprisingly, Mila-Rose was faring worse than either of them as she had already collapsed on her back, whimpering out "Please stop...the sky. I'd...like to...get up.". Orihime was not much better as she found herself holding onto Harribel's shoulder to prevent herself from collapsing on the sand as with Mila-Rose.

Amazingly, the only ones that were not affected at all were Harribel and Nel, who had no signs of feeling dizzy or nauseous. Harribel just watched the fight, as still and stoically as though she was a statue. Nel in contrast was alert and somewhat edgy, breathing hard, as though she was expecting a fight at any moment. 'Maybe it's all this reiatsu.' Harribel surmised, looking at the child Arrancar. 'She'll probably settle down once the battle ends.'. Suddenly, Harribel bolted up as she felt an unfamiliar reiatsu...of a Shinigami. Acting more on instinct than thought, she readied her weapon and used sonido to appear behind the stranger.

Or strangers as it turned out, for she had appeared behind a band of three Shinigami. "You raise your weapon, or try anything funny, and I'll slice you up." she hissed through her now-zipped jacket and mask remnants (She zipped it back up just before facing the Shinigami. Only Ichigo is allowed to see her breasts and get away with it.). Two of them, a tall one with silver hair and a short one with black hair, put their hands up almost immediately. The third, however, only laughed as she, apparent from the laugh, slowly turned around, surprising the heck out of Harribel, even though she did not show it. "If you really wanted to hurt us, you would've done so already." she said as she looked Harribel in the eye.

Seeing no intent of hurting her or her Fraccion, Harribel sheathed her Zanpakuto, a katana with sharp undulations in the blade, like water, and the hilt shaped like a snake with legs, with the head, horse-like, forming the guard. "Sorry. Instinct. No offense." Harribel said as she looked over the woman. She was of average height, maybe taller, with blue eyes and a black braid in the front, and dressed in the standard Shinigami robes.

"Perfectly understandable. And none taken." the woman said as she looked over Harribel in turn. 'It's all right.' Harribel told herself. 'I looked her over, so she can do the same.'. "My name is Retsu Unohana, Captain of Squad Four." the woman said a few seconds later, adding "What is your name? And why didn't you attack us?".

"I am Tia Harribel, the First Espada." she responded, drawing a gasp from the two Shinigami who still had their hands up. "Don't worry, you can relax. I didn't attack you because it would have been against Ichigo's wishes.". The Shinigami all did a double take when they heard her, and for a moment stood perfectly still, looking as though Harribel had performed a curse of petrification. "You all heard me correctly. I'm not attacking you since it goes against Ichigo's wishes, and your his allies, thus you are my allies as well. So relax. RELAX!". She yelled the last part out, which seemed to do the trick as the Shinigami jumped out of their petrification and collapsed on the ground when they lost their footing.

Chuckling softly, Harribel leaned down and helped pull them back up, surprising them all with her great strength, which almost sent the little one flying, earning a round of giggles from the three women. "Thanks. My name is Isane Kotetsu, Lieutenant of Squad Four." the tall silver-haired woman said after dusting herself off. "And my name is Hanataro Yamada, Seventh Seat of Squad Four." the black-haired boy said after he picked himself up.

"Charmed." Harribel said, nodding to both Shinigami. "I suppose you want an explanation for my sudden alignment with Ichigo." she surmised, earning a round of nods from all Shinigami. "I aligned with Ichigo as he is my better, my superior in terms of strength and power, and so it is his right to rule over me." she answered, leaving the Shinigami perplexed by her explanation. "He is also my chance to be free of Aizen, free from his control. As payment for killing Aizen, I offered him my service. He accepted, so I am now at his command." she added as the Shinigami nodded their heads in understanding.

"So where is Ichigo now?" Hanataro asked, looking around until his head jerked back to a particular spot and he added "I'm guessing there.". Everyone looked in the direction that he referred to and saw what had happened in the small amount of time that Harribel stood up. Kenpachi and Ichigo had finally broken off from their high-speed melee combat and looked the worse for wear.

Ichigo's fur had been cut and shaved unevenly, making him look like a dog with mange. His chest and arms were covered in cuts and dents, his fingers were pulverized, and his right arm blade and left joint fangs had been broken off. Finally, he was doubling over from the pain in his chest, from broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a punctured lung.

'Oh man!' Ichigo thought as he felt another wave of pain wash over him. 'Looks like this fight will be over soon.'. He then looked over to Kenpachi and saw that at least he was not alone in his pain.

Kenpachi was covered in blood literally from head to toe. His chest was littered in cuts and bruises, and his arms looked like the flesh had been ripped from them in some places. Making things harder for him was that his ribs were virtually shattered and he was having trouble breathing. 'Shit. Looks like this fight will end very soon.' he thought as he looked over at Ichigo.

"Hey Ichigo." he called out. "How are you holding out?". Ichigo's eyes widened as he gave his answer. "About as well as you from the looks of it. Why?". "I just thought that maybe we should end this fight with one last attack. Our best attack." he explained. Ichigo thought for a moment and said "All right." and stood as straight as he could. Once Kenpachi did the same, both began pouring out reiatsu, much stronger and heavier than before.

"KAMI! They're NUTS!" Isane, Hanataro, Apache, and Mila-Rose yelled out in unison, while Harribel, Unohana, and Sun-Sun just nodded. Ichigo stood up and slashed his sword across his hand, drawing blood. "King, what are you doing?" Hichigo yelled out, seeing Ichigo deliberately cut himself. 'I'm gonna try that Gran Rey Cero Grimmjow used.' Ichigo explained. "But he said only Espada could use that!" Hichigo retorted, shocked that Ichigo would even think about it. 'Maybe he meant only a Hollow of Espada power level could use it, and I'm WAY above them. Couldn't hurt to try.' Ichigo elaborated, leaving Hichigo back on the sidelines as he started gathering blue reiatsu in his hand.

Meanwhile Kenpachi yelled "Bankai!" and gold reiatsu engulfed him, and began to reshape itself, from a cloud to a more solid form. When the reiatsu settled down, Kenpachi was surrounded by a form of golden armor, humanoid in shape, with a large chest, forearms, and calves, and with what seemed like spikes protruding from the back and arms (Ironmonger people, but slimmer and more athletic in appearance).

"Kutsuu Kinzoku Akuma (Hell Metal Demon)!" Kenpachi yelled as he brought one arm up and started gathering reiatsu like Ichigo. Soon, both had large spheres of reiatsu, crackling like lightning and trembling like missiles ready to launch. Just as their respective masters were about to release their final attack, they felt a new reiatsu, one that took them completely by surprise for its intensity, suddenness, and...familiarity. They turned to look at the source of the new reiatsu, which was rather stupid as they lost control over their respective attacks and they blew up in their faces, blowing them 40 meters apart.

"Ichigo-kun!" Orihime yelled as she bolted to her feet..or at least tried to as she found something rather big on her lap which jumped up faster than she could and ran towards Ichigo, intent on getting there first. It did not take long as whatever it was soon reached Ichigo and grabbed him...in a bone-crushing bear hug yelling "Ichigo! Are you all right? Ichigo, speak to me!" in a feminine voice.

Of course he was not all right. Would you be after first taking all that damage, then having your best attack blow up in your face, and now have this complete stranger bear-hug you in short order? Sure enough, Ichigo felt himself getting light-headed from the lack of oxygen, and the rest of his ribs break. Most embarrassing of all though, he felt himself getting hard south of the equator, for he could tell that this person was very well endowed in the chest. To top it all off, all he could see was a mass of green...a very familiar green...hair that is.

'It...can't...don't tell me!' he thought as he fought in futility to get free. In the background he could just make out the three others trying to reach him. One, Orihime, was begging the stranger to let him go, while the others tried to pry her off. Just before he died of oxygen depletion they finally managed to get the stranger off and after a few good breaths, he succeeded in getting a look at the bear-hugger, and felt his eyes widen at the person and asked himself 'Is that who I think it is?'.


	11. Chapter 11: Lines of War

Again I do not own Bleach nor do I claim to do so. Tite Kubo is the only one who can.

Ichigo could only stare at the figure that had only recently almost bear-hugged him to death. The first things he noticed was her green hair and skull fragment, which could only belong to one person: Nel. 'But no it can't be.' Ichigo thought as he assessed the rest of her. She had the body of a young beautiful woman, with long, slender legs like an Olympic swimmer, and a very bountiful chest. 'Whoa. Those could give Matsumodo, Yoruichi, Kukaku, or Harribel a run for their money.' he thought noticing that last feature.

"Are you really Nel?" Ichigo asked the woman. Kind of pointless when you remember that he's telepathic, but somehow hearing her confirm it was vital to extinguish the doubt in his mind. The woman only smiled as she nodded in understanding.

"But...how...?" Ichigo began as he processed the information he had just received. 'The little girl that I protected like a sister was really THIS woman?' he thought, trying to make sense of what he had just experienced.

"It was Nnoitra." she explained, now in a more mature voice, though still containing a seed of childish mischief. "He lured me into a trap and changed me into a child. When that happened I lost all my memories." Ichigo just nodded in response following her pause, encouraging her to go on.

"Now thanks to you, protecting me, caring for me, and nourishing me with your reiatsu from battle, I have regained my true form. So thank you." she finished, leaving Ichigo a moment to process the new info.

"Nel-chan?" Orihime asked astounded by what she saw, followed by "Nel-sama?" from Harribel and her Fraccion, as though they were seeing a ghost. "You're supposed to be DEAD!" Apache yelled out, fully recovered from her episode with Ichigo. Nel just turned and walked toward the group and repeated her explanation, leaving Harribel's Fraccion fuming at the sneakiness and treachery of the slimy former fifth Espada.

"But now there's a rather more pressing matter to address." Nel said, snapping everyone back to the present. 'Oh CRAP!' they thought as they realized that they left Ichigo and Kenpachi with serious injuries...unattended. Unohana, acting more on training than volition ran towards Ichigo to treat him, only to remind herself that Orihime was there and her powers could heal ANY wound whereas she could not.

"Retsu, go tend after Kenpachi. I'll be all right." Ichigo said as he tried to sit up. Unohana hesitantly nodded and ran to the unconscious giant. "You'd better go with her, Hime-chan." Ichigo said seeing Orihime freeze in place. "I'm gonna get outta my release state. Your powers and Retsu's treatments will work better without all this Hollow reiatsu in the way." he explained, calming Orihime enough to go for Kenpachi.

'So how do I seal my powers?' Ichigo wondered as he looked at himself, then noticed time seeming to grind to a halt. "Don't worry about it King." he heard Hichigo cackle in the background. "If you just focus on sealing your Hollow reiatsu, then it will coalesce into a physical form.". "But first," he said sensing Ichigo's intent. "if you seal your reiatsu now, then you'll have only marginally better healing abilities and your wounds will only be a greater risk. Plus you're running low on oxygen here."

'So what do I do? Wait for Retsu and Orihime to get back here?' Ichigo asked getting impatient. "Well there's that, or you could specialize your body modification abilities.". '"Specialize?"' Ichigo asked, clearly confused. "Yes. Here's the deal, you can modify mostly your anatomy, like you have been doing, or you could modify your physiology, like create myoglobin, so you can store more oxygen, or increase the sensitivity of your nerves to improve reflexes. If you do that, however, your anatomical shaping will come to an end and you'll have to be content with what you have now." he elaborated.

'Physiology or anatomy, huh?' Ichigo wondered for a moment, then said 'I'll do it. Let's start with the myoglobin.' and he started to focus on his muscle tissue. Sure enough, he began to feel less out-of-breath and more relaxed almost immediately. Within a minute, he no longer felt any pain in his muscles and his breathing returned to normal.

'All right. Ah, I see Hime-chan and Retsu are coming back. Better seal my Hollow reiatsu.' Ichigo said as he began to focus on sealing his reiatsu. Within seconds, he began to glow, first faintly, then blindingly, and a cyclone surrounded him, kicking up a small sandstorm. The others, not knowing what was going on, kept themselves at a safe distance, though still had to guard against a stray flicker of reiatsu.

Within a minute the sandstorm cleared, and they saw Ichigo again...but in his human form, complete with his Shinigami robes and human body. They ran toward him and started checking out his wounds. As they were treating him they noticed that something had changed. In his hand, he held...a second sword, sheathed at the moment. 'His Zanpakuto?' they wondered, but found Zangetsu on his back in his Shikai form. They also remembered that Zangetsu never had a scabbard and looked more like a glorified meat cleaver than anything else.

This new sword was VERY different. It's scabbard was red, with a black stripe on the side covering the inside of the blade, and a white stripe covering the outside. They also noticed that the scabbard was slightly wider than most, up to two tip-lengths from the end. After that, it sharply narrowed to a point, leaving them to wonder what kind of sword it housed. Finally, they took note of the hilt and guard, feeling a kind of primal dread at the sight. The guard was an animal's gaping mouth filled with teeth, shaped like a hyena, and seemingly ejecting the blade. The head was followed with a long thick neck that had been "compressed", widening it enough to be used for parrying and blocking. The grip was the animal's body, wrapped in blood-red leather or manta ray skin, followed by a very long tassel, obviously the animal's tail. The animal's legs were pulled close to its body as though it was ready to pounce.

Sensing their wonder and dread at this new development, Ichigo placed his hand on the distinguished hilt and pulled out the sword. The blade was very long, almost as long as Kenpachi's, and jagged too. Upon closer inspection, they saw that the blade was actually serrated, and the serrations resembled an animal's teeth. This was especially evident towards the tip, where the largest and last serration looked like a carnivore's canine tooth or fang, and even projected outward. The rest of the blade looked like a regular sword, smooth and tapering to a point.

For a moment, Ichigo just stared at the blade, admiring it for its beauty, craftsmanship, and savagery, twirling it and spinning it in his hands as fast and precise as a movie star martial artist. After sensing that Orihime and Unohana were nearing their point of tolerance, he sheathed the sword and tucked it under his belt. "Well, how's Kenpachi?" he asked trying to change the topic.

"He's doing all right." both women said simultaneously, relieved that Ichigo put his new sword away. "One at a time please, or this will get confusing." Ichigo said, half-smiling. "The wounds were pretty severe, but his Bankai managed to absorb much of the damage." Orihime explained. "Besides, that's not the first time his Bankai exploded in his face. How else did he master it?" Unohana answered, leaving the two teenagers to wonder 'How many times DID that happen?'.

"Oh and there's one other thing we should warn you about." Unohana said, snapping Ichigo and Orihime back into reality. Before they could inquire, a mass of pink hair and WAY too much sweets appeared on Unohana's shoulder and yelled "Ichi! Great ta see ya!".

"Yachiru-chan!" Orihime yelled out, obviously glad to see her. "Hey there Boobies!" Yachiru answered and waved at her. 'Not her again!' Ichigo thought, remembering the trouble she gave him in the past, like when she stuffed firecrackers into his robes and set them off, or when she gave him underwear two sizes too small to watch him suffer from a perpetual wedgie...just before a meeting with the Captains no less!

'Better keep an eye on her.' he thought, as he watched her jump off Unohana's shoulder and land in Orihime's arms where they continued their conversation. Freed from the burden on her shoulder, Unohana walked over to Ichigo and whispered "Good thing she didn't see your ears." and smiled when his face lost all color in dread of that scenario.

'Kami! May that NEVER happen to me, or at least not in public!' he prayed, as he pictured Yachiru holding onto his head, rubbing his ears, as he flailed about in vain trying to shake her off. Surprisingly, he felt himself mellowing out at the thought of someone gently rubbing his Hollow ears. 'Get a hold of yourself man!' he yelled at himself realizing what he was doing, especially when he saw Orihime and Unohana staring at him as if he had suddenly started clucking like a chicken.

Just as Ichigo started to return to his trademark scowl, he and everyone else felt new reiatsu...very powerful reiatsu...and hostile to boot. Acting on instinct and telepathy, he flashed and reappeared behind Orihime...with his new sword at the throat of the man trying to grab her. Sensing the other man behind him, he started to turn, but heard the words 'Don't worry Ichigo.' and saw Harribel had her Zanpakuto at the throat of the other man.

Seeing that the threat had passed, Ichigo could now get a good look at the two men. The one he had caught had wavy dark hair, a five-o'clock shadow on his chin, and a wolf mandible on his neck. He gave an air of laziness and boredom as though he would rather be asleep than be here. 'This should be a piece of cake.' Ichigo thought as he looked to Harribel and her hostage. Surprisingly, hers was an old geezer, complete with a mane of white hair, contained within what seemed to be a crown of bone on his head, and a mustache to match. Despite his old age, Ichigo felt a powerful and venomous anger emanating from him and thought 'Better be careful with this one. If he's an Espada, then he's older than he looks.'.

Probing deeper to find their abilities, he read their thoughts...and discovered a way to completely turn the tide against Aizen. The older man, Barragan, thought 'This...is the man to destroy Aizen. It has to be. His reiatsu matches what I felt, and he's hasn't got a scratch. There's no way he could have accomplished that without that superior strength.'. Ichigo inwardly grinned and turned toward the other man, Coyote Starrk, and read his thoughts: 'I hope Lilynette is all right, now that I failed my task. If only Aizen never found us, she wouldn't be in trouble.'.

Probing even deeper in Starrk's mind, Ichigo discovered Lilynette's current location and said "Apache, Mila-Rose, Sun-Sun, keep an eye on this guy. Any funny business and he goes down." and flashed out. Everyone stood in surprise as they saw Ichigo leave an enemy unguarded save for a brief message. This moment did not last long as Ichigo reappeared with what looked like a young girl in his arms...a young girl with a Hollow mask hosting one and a half horns.

Starrk only had to take one look to realize what Ichigo was doing, and burrowed his brow. "Let me guess. You saved Lilynette from Aizen, now you want me to help you fight him." he said, with the irony marinating his words. "I was going to go with you just stay outta the fight, but that works too." Ichigo said, sounding humorous but completely serious in his expression. Starrk, suspicious of Ichigo's offer asked "What will you do after the fight?". "Provided we survive and Aizen doesn't, I'll go home, and I promise not to go hunting you as long as you don't cause trouble for humans." he answered. For a moment, Starrk searched for any trace of a lie in Ichigo's face and eyes, but could not find a bit. Realizing Ichigo's good intentions and honesty, he smiled for the first time in a long time and said "All right, it's a deal.".

Smiling at his success, Ichigo looked to Barragan and asked "What about you old geezer?" Scorned by Ichigo's cheeky tone and lack of respect, Barragan fumed for a moment, but calmed down realizing he had the chance he had been waiting for so long and said "No contest. I'm with ya." and mentally added 'and once you're weak I'll kill you.'. Ichigo turned to Harribel and thought 'Let him go, but keep an eye on him. He means to kill me once this is all over.', and found himself surprised when she said "All right." and let him go.

'How? How?' Ichigo wondered, amazed that she understood him. "Confused King?" Hichigo asked, giggling maniacally. 'Are you gonna run outta laughs anytime soon?' Ichigo asked, bringing an abrupt end to Hichigo's laughter, only to be replaced with a proud smile. "Well King! Your new attitude is quite an improvement. All right, I'll explain. First, you retain your telepathy because most of your training was done without the mask, so it wasn't sealed with your Hollow reiatsu. Second, when you probe a person's mind deep enough or long enough or just enough times, your telepathic link becomes more and more mutual. In other words, people start hearing your thoughts as well." Hichigo explained.

'You mean that someone could read my mind while I'm trying to do the same?' Ichigo asked, horrified at the implications. "I know what you're thinking but listen up. This only happens if you probe too deeply or too frequently, as you've been doing with Harribel and her Fraccion. But by working on it, you can develop mental defenses to prevent your thoughts from being read, even while in a link, by closely controlling your thoughts." Hichigo explained, replacing Ichigo's fear with confusion. "I can't really explain it very well, but I suppose it's like lying. A person who can successfully lie can control their facial expressions and physiological responses so well no difference can be detected by most people. Moving on, if you work at it, you can pick up a person's thoughts without their noticing, by entering quietly into their minds. Finally, if you work on that, you can project your thoughts into a person's mind and make them believe THAT'S their thoughts." Hichigo elaborated, and Ichigo felt himself relax seeing that he could prevent his telepathy from being used against him.

Before he could move on, he felt two more reiatsu coming his way, both very familiar and very angry. Putting his guard up, he saw Ulquiorra and Yammy appear before him, the first looking eager for a rematch, and the second just happy that he'd get a fight at all. "Curious." Ulquiorra said in his usual monotone voice. "Harribel, Barragan, and Starrk are all here, but there's no evidence of a fight. What is going on here? Aizen-sama wants them dead. Dispose of them." he finished, looking at the three mentioned Espada.

"Sorry Ulquiorra, but Aizen is no longer our master." Harribel asserted, drawing her Zanpakuto along with Barragan and Starrk. Ulquiorra, for the second time today felt his eyes widen in amazement at their announcement of desertion and said "Very well. Dispose of them too Yammy.". The fore-mentioned behemoth just grinned like an idiot and said "With PLEASURE!" and raised a hand to his Zanpakuto and yelled "_Buchikirero_, Ira (Be enraged, Anger)!" and his Zanpakuto exploded, followed by him tremendously growing in size, and his reiatsu increased so much that Ichigo was scared for the first time since he met Hiena.

A moment later, after Yammy grew to massive size and became something reminiscent of Godzilla with spikes down his back, Ichigo realized he had good reason to be scared. Not only had Yammy increased in size and reiatsu, but on his shoulder his Espada tattoo read Zero. "HE'S the strongest Espada?" Ichigo asked, not daring to believe it.

"Yes, that's correct." Harribel said, confirming Ichigo's fears. "But do not worry, for he is no match for the three of us." she continued as she, Barragan, and Starrk drew their Zanpakuto and readied their stances:

"Dokusatsusuru, Reptile Rey(Poison them, Reptile King)!" Barragan yelled holding his Zanpakuto shaped like a three-and-a-half foot boomerang with a handle on the inside near the bottom, out to the side like he was gonna throw it.

"Kechirase, Los Lobos (Kick About, Wolf Pack)!" Starrk shouted, holding his Zanpakuto, made like a normal Katana with wolf fur on the pommel and guard, and serrations similar to wolf canines placed at regular intervals in the blade, horizontally across his chest and slashed crosswise.

"Hanransuru, Dragon diosa (Flood, Dragon Goddess)!" Harribel screamed out, her undulated Zanpakuto held upwards as though attempting to ward off some non-existent rain.

The resulting burst of reiatsu from all three Espada releasing their Zanpakuto blew away everyone in the group, even Ichigo, and compressed the sand into sandstone. When the storm cleared, everyone stood in awe at the magnificence of the scene before them.

Barragan had become a massive lizard as tall as Yammy was now, his mask remnants replaced with a large frill stretched back from his Velociraptor-like head over his neck, similar to Triceratops, a long tail with spikes down it like a crocodile, long powerful legs and arms armed with claws like a monitor lizard.

Starrk was covered in a wolf-fur jacket and pants, complete with a wolf tail, and his mask remnants were joined with a complementary maxilla to form a white wolf snout over his lower face. To top it off, his fur stretched over to his head, giving him a pair of wolf ears, and from his belt hung two Western-style guns. Though he did not get any larger, he was no less impressive than Barragan was.

Harribel, however, topped them all. She had been stretch,ed enormously, as least twice as long as Barragan, and almost just as reptilian, but with shinier, more beautiful scales. Upon closer examination, she was shown to have legs and arms, albeit shorter and each tipped with talons like an eagle. Looking into the distance, everyone saw that she had a tail, almost as long as her new body and like a snake, but slimmer, more graceful, and ended with a tuft of fur. At the opposite end, her chest and neck had also elongated, though not as much as the rest of her body, and her mask remnants covered her head, giving her a horse-like appearance, though with what looked like deer antlers and her eyes shined brightly in those holes. If you could get far enough away, you could see that she had become an Oriental dragon, like those you see at festivals.

'He's in for it!' Ichigo thought as he took in the scene, only to remember that there was still Ulquiorra who was forgotten due to all the reiatsu buildup and sandstorms, and, apparently, resentment emanated from him as a result. "Well, Ichigo, it looks like we're gonna have a rematch after all." he said, as he walked toward him...only to be stopped by Nel who looked very pissed off. "So you're the one who put that hole in Ichigo!" he said, keeping a calm expression but toxic rage dripping in her voice. "If you want revenge, I'll indulge you." Ulquiorra said as he took a stance and faced against Nel.

"Nel, you don't have to do this!" Ichigo said, trying to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't budge. "Ichigo, I really want to thank you for restoring me to my adult form, and I wanna make him pay for hurting you." she said, smiling, but with a tone that said 'Don't even THINK about arguing with me!'. Ichigo, wisely, let the matter go for you know the old expression 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.', and Nel was a member of the Espada. You put those together and...you can guess.

"All right, but at least have Unohana, Sun-Sun, Apache, and Mila-Rose as back-up." he said, in the same face and tone as she. Seeing that she should reciprocate, she nodded and let the fore-mentioned women appear behind her. Ulquiorra raised an eye-brow, intrigued that so many woman would be willing to fight him...lecherous thoughts running through his head.

But before any of the combatants could make a move, the palace rumbled as the gates flew open and literally hundreds of Arrancar appeared, along with some Gillian-class Hollows. Standing above them all was a blond-haired Arrancar with a dazed look on his face and two men alongside him: a dark-faced man with a visor and dreadlocks on his right, and a blond-hair man with narrowed eyes, giving him a fox-like appearance.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you've made QUITE an impact Ichigo. I'm impressed, aren't you Kaname?" the fox man, Gin Ichimaru, said, sneeringly. "There's nothing to be impressed about. He destroyed the peace of the palace, and now stands in the way of our plan." Kaname answered, scowling as he readied his Zanpakuto. "I'll take out the traitors after Yammy. You handle boy and the Fraccion. Kaname barked at Gin. "Awwww. You'll get all the fun. No fair." Gin retorted sarcastically and he too readied his weapon. "And what about the freak?" he asked, pointing at the dazed-out Arrancar boy. "He'll handle backup." Kaname angrily answered, as he took a stance.

Just at that moment, several of the Arrancar soldiers were struck down, and out appeared six new Arrancar, all heading for the released Barragan. Upon reaching him, they bowed and said "Sire, what do you wish us to do?" simultaneously. "Destroy the Arrancar army!" Barragan answered, crouching as he faced Yammy.

"Yes sire!" they all said as they took their stances facing their new enemy. 'Looks like we need a new plan.' Ichigo thought seeing Barragan's Fraccion join them. "Unohana, you and Hanataro look after Orihime and Chad. Once they're ready for battle, join them as backup. Apache, Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, you handle the Arrancar army, but support Nel if she needs it." he ordered, earning a nod, or grunt in Apache's case, of acknowledgment.

A moment of silence passed between the two armies, then with a boom of sonido or swish of Flash Step, the battle began.

Author's Note: I made Barragan's resurrection along the lines of a monitor lizard, crocodile, and a frill-necked lizard, and Harribel's as a Chinese Dragon since I wanted to retain her abilities from the anime but give it a new form. As for their Zanpakuto names, I couldn't find a translation into Japanese, so I had to make do with Spanish.


	12. Chapter 12: Showdown at Los Noches

Again I do not own Bleach nor do I claim to. Tite Kubo is the only one who can.

The battle that ensued was the fiercest and most chaotic battle Ichigo had ever faced. Immediately he found himself fighting dozens of enemies at once, slashing and using Getsuga Tenshou at every chance he could get. Realizing he was about to be overrun, he jumped up and launched ten consecutive Getsuga Tenshou attacks, devastating the Arrancar ranks. Seeing that he had slowed down the enemy advance, he took a moment to look at how the others were doing.

Barragan's Fraccion were doing very well, particularly the one that Ichigo thought looked like a Native American. That one, never heard the name, had released his Zanpakuto, turning himself into a humanoid eagle, and was flying above the enemy, pounding them with feather bullets, and strafing them with his talons. The rest were just as impressive, combining their combat abilities with their Cero attacks to cut through huge swathes of the enemy.

Harribel's Fraccion were just as, if not more, impressive, as they cut down multiple enemies at once with their Zanpakuto and sonido. It was also the first time that Ichigo witnessed their particular styles. Apache fought with speed and focused almost exclusively on attacking her enemy rather than blocking or counterattacking. Sun-Sun, in contrast, almost never attacked first and waited for her enemy to come to her. With tremendous flexibility, she dodged their attacks, leaving them overstretched, and then finding the empty spaces between, she attacked...and often slashed through ten or more enemies at that! Mila-Rose was something in-between her partners in style, combining offense and defense with her great strength and skill to ravage her enemies.

Kenpachi was doing excellently, as expected, as he slashed wildly, using his Zanpakuto ability to shirk off damage and lay waste to the Arrancar army. Even so, Kenpachi had to jump frequently to avoid being overrun by the sheer number of them.

As for Nel and the other former Espada, their fight was not going as well. Nel managed to match Ulquiorra in skill and strength, and at times even surpassed him, inflicting heavy damage, frequently with her Cero Doble. For all her damage though, Ulquiorra managed to shake it off with his regeneration abilities and his intense toughness. It was similar for Barragan, Harribel, and Starrk, for even though Yammy was a massive target, they could not do enough to damage him. Hell, at the moment they would settle for a scratch, for even though they had hit him more than a thousand times, and he merely smiled smugly and asked "That the best ya trash got?".

Ichigo never got the chance to see their reaction, for at that moment he narrowly dodged Gin's attack, and attempted to counterattack, only to watch Gin flash away. 'Blast!' Ichigo thought as he tried to catch up in a Flash Step game of tag.

Meanwhile, Harribel, Starrk, and Barragan were desperately trying to think of a way to damage Yammy while simultaneously fighting off Arrancar and Kaname. 'We can't keep this up much longer.' Harribel thought as she avoided another attack from the blind traitor. 'If only Ichigo could keep Tousen off us, we'd have a better chance.' she continued as she tried to shoot a blast of water from her talon, but had to sidestep around a fist from Yammy.

Then suddenly, she figured it all out and said 'I can't believe I've been so STUPID!' and she tried to contact Ichigo mentally, but had to avoid another attack from Tousen. 'That's it, I've had enough!' she thought angrily as she flew upwards, prompting Tousen to follow and at the peak of their ascent, water erupted from her mouth and claws, forming a perfect copy of her, down to the texture and color of each individual scale, and even had her reiatsu. The copy was so perfect that Tousen stopped: shock, surprise, and fear evident on his face. This moment of hesitation was all Harribel required as her copy rushed at him, divided when he cut it with his sword, and felt the water surround his arms and legs, and began to boil, and the more he struggled, the more it boiled. The water continued to boil until his arms and legs almost had all skin and muscle burned off as he screamed in agony.

Seeing her work done, Harribel dove back to the battle, and found that in her absence, Ichigo had managed to finally catch up with Gin and was battling him in close range combat, when suddenly he pulled back, just as Gin began twisting the pommel and a cloud of greenish particles emitted from it. Gin, seeing his opponent just narrowly avoid a secret toxic poison, actually opened his eyes in surprise and split his grin even wider. 'That guy's smile could get ANY wider?' Ichigo thought incredulous, as he prepared for whatever Gin was planning next.

'So that's it.' Ichigo thought after doing a quick probe of Gin's mind. "All right. Round TWO!" Ichigo yelled as he flashed toward Gin, and slashed...but Gin parried it and struck Ichigo in the chest, unleashing the poison from his blade...only to watch Ichigo disappear and feel a massive slash across his back, grazing his lungs and spinal cord. He turned around and watched Ichigo flash away toward the descending Harribel.

"Ichigo, I've got a plan!" she yelled and Ichigo, reading her mind, nodded in comprehensive affirmation and bolted towards Unohana while Harribel went back to fighting Yammy. Upon reaching Unohana, just as she finished tending to Chad's last battle damage, he said "Retsu, use your Shikai to carry Orihime, Chad, and everyone else you can, into the sky. I'll round everyone up." before flashing away again.

Unohana, confused by his orders, nonetheless began carrying them out. "Orihime, Chad, Isane, Hanataro, Lilynette, please gather around here and stay close. Byouki no kiku, Minazuki (Treat a Disease, Purify the Flesh)!" and her Zanpakuto dissolved into a green gas that settled at their feet and began to expand, then solidify into a giant green manta ray. 'All right, we're ready Ichigo.' she thought, turning to watch her orange-haired beloved.

Ichigo meanwhile had been appearing before each of Barragan's Fraccion, Kenpachi, Nel, and Starrk, telling them of the plan and the need to get on Minazuki quickly. Surprisingly, the main source of complaint came from a big member of Barragan's Fraccion who refused to board and said "I'll be fine." and took out his Zanpakuto, which was incredibly small, especially for a guy of his size. He drew it out and said "Ibuke, Calderon(Breath, Pilot Whale)!" and the sword dissolved, then the guy began to inflate...and increase, until he was an ape with a baleen whale throat the size of a Gillian. Seeing that he WOULD be all right, the rest boarded Minazuki without complaint and waited for the plan to be put into action.

Ichigo, double checking that everyone was on Minazuki, gave Harribel the thumbs up and jumped, landing next to her. The First Espada began dancing in a twisting and writhing manner, like a snake, with incredible grace and power. Slowly at first, but steadily going faster and faster, seemingly shedding water vapor from her body and spreading through the atmosphere. "Ryuu no Subarashii Kouzui (Heavenly Flood of the Dragon)!" she yelled and it started to rain...slowly and gently at first, but it increased in volume and speed...until eventually the water could no longer be absorbed into the ground and began to build up.

The water rose so high that Minazuki had to take off or risk being drowned. She managed to get over ten meters above the water, but she found herself beginning to descend out of exhaustion and the weight of both the torrential rain and her passengers. Meanwhile, the water continued to rise, effectively drowning a fifth of the Arrancar army. Then the water did something that filled them with dread.

It began to retreat...and gather under Harribel, into a massive wave...that shot forward with the force of a fusion bomb and the speed of a bullet.

That would have been the end for everyone, if Orihime hadn't intervened. "Santen Kesshun, I REJECT!" she screamed out, forming a triangular shield under Minazuki, stopping her descent and began pushing her upward...**JUST** in time for the wave had washed over where they had been just a nanosecond ago.

Everyone looked in awe and amazement as they watched Harribel's technique do its work. Two-thirds of the remaining Arrancar were washed away save for those that could climb up the palace walls, fly, or jump high enough...and even those could not escape for long as the pouring rain washed them back down...into the flood to be battered against the palace walls and torn to shreds by wild currents of water and reiatsu whirlpools.

The flood was so powerful that the palace could no longer stand and collapsed, killing almost all of the Arrancar reinforcements that lay inside, awaiting Aizen's orders. Even the Gillians were affected as their bodies were sliced and sheared from the currents and the force, and Yammy found himself unable to stand and toppled over, discovering that half of his fourteen legs had been mutilated down to the bone.

Two remained on the ground and survived relatively unscathed: Barragan, who had jumped into Yammy once he went down and then used his crocodile tail to split the water around him, and the Fraccion, whose body density had increased so much the water could not harm him unless it caught him in a whirlpool.

The flood continued until only twenty Gillians, Ulquiorra, who had released his Zanpakuto, Yammy, and Gin and Tousen remained. At that point, the flood water began to flow...up...to Harribel, who repeated her coiling dance in the sky, and the water was absorbed back into her body. Now, the battle could resume.

Starrk, Ichigo, and Nel jumped off their ride and reengaged their opponents. Barragan clamped his jaws on Yammy's shoulder and began ripping into Yammy's belly with his foot claws. Yammy, screaming in pain, tried to push him off, but found that Barragan had a death grip on his shoulder. It was only when he pushed himself up with his tail and remaining legs that he managed to free himself, pulling some of Barragan's teeth out in the process.

And then Yammy looked at his wounds and turned red with fury...so red human blood would look white in comparison. He started to grow, doubling, then tripling his size. His tail became longer with whips branching out near the end along the club, and sheared appendages along the sides. His spikes grew and branched into moose antlers that pointed out and to the sides. His legs merged together to form two stubby stumps, reminiscent of a sauropod dinosaur, and with three short claws. His arms, thicker and longer until he could no longer stand upright and had to hunker down like an ape. His mask remnants covered his face and reformed his mask, a human skull with three horned ridges on top and a spiked beard along the sides and underside.

Grinning madly he raised his arms high and crashed down on Barragan...only to watch him slip out from beneath his arms and feel him run up his back. Enraged that he had been outwitted, Yammy began thrashing wildly, desperately trying to grab Barragan or shake him off. Just as he grabbed Barragan by the leg, he felt a powerful punch hit him squarely in the gut, doubling him over and allowing Barragan to escape.

"How dare you lay a hand on King Barragan?" the owner of the punch yelled in fanatical fury. "Choe, leave the rest to me!" Barragan barked at his subordinate, as he watched Yammy heave himself up and roared "How DARE you lay a hand on me, TRASH?" and began charging a Cero...

...and found himself doubling over in intense pain. "What the hell?" he yelled, confused and enraged by the turning of the tables. "Looks like the poison took effect after all." Barragan sound, calmly and smugly. "Poison?" Yammy asked as he felt the site of the bite beginning to burn. "Listen, I am a composite of different reptiles." Barragan began, with an irritated tone as though Yammy should know this. "One of these is Megalania, a giant monitor lizard that lived in Australia until humans arrived on the island continent. This lizard not had only immensely sharp claws, but it also, supposedly, had saliva laced with toxic bacteria, that condemned its victim to a slow death by blood poisoning. If you had left your wound opened, you may have been able to get the poison out. But you sealed it up, so now you're doomed.".

"NO! I'm the CERO ESPADA! I CAN'T be defeated!" Yammy yelled in defiance as he tried to launch another attack, only to find that the pain had increased in intensity and spread from the shoulder to much of his arm. Clutching his arm he saw that the spot where he was bitten began to turn green and gangrenous. "My poison, while delivered by Megalania's system, is a cocktail of different toxins, like a snake, so there will be multiple effects." Barragan explained seeing Yammy confused by the effects of the poison.

Still refusing to admit defeat, Yammy stood up again, this time managing to stand up on his hind legs and began charging a Cero, only to find swirling water wrapped around his waist, like a python, attempting to restrain him. "You'll NEVER crush me Harribel! My Hierro is too strong!" he roared in delight at the apparent futility of her actions.

"Who said I was trying to crush you?" she asked, hovering above the battlefield, calm as a cucumber. Surprised, Yammy looked down and realized that she had pinned his arms at his sides, and was not letting go. Even when he put his full strength into trying to break free, he failed. "How could your water do THIS?" he roared, realizing that her water was wrapped not ONE but THREE times around him. A closer look revealed that Harribel had condensed the water to increase the strength of her hold, and STILL had plenty of excess. "You forget that my greatest strength is my ability to control water, and my form reflects this. Whereas most Arrancar grow in size or alter shape after releasing their reiatsu, mine is released in the water that I control, and as the First Espada, I have a ton of reiatsu, and thus "retain" an equally impressive amount of water. You may have greater raw power than us, but you lack finesse and control, and so you will lose." she said as Yammy continued attempting to break free.

Nel was having a harder time fighting Ulquiorra who, to survive the flood, had moved on to his second release state, and was now dominating the field with his flying abilities. 'MY release state is useless in this battle.' she thought as she dodged another dive from Ulquiorra. 'I'm stronger, but he's faster, and I can't fly like he can...even if I release my Zanpakuto, he just fly above me... then...that's it!' she finished and readied herself. First, she waited for Ulquiorra to dive, then just as he reached her, she flashed away and reappeared above him, and ax-kicked him on the back of the head, following up with a kick to the front, sending him rocketing up into the air, spinning at an angle of 60 degrees.

Once he had stopped spinning and reoriented himself, he dove back down at his highest possible speed, Lanza del Relampago in his hands. Down below, Nel held her Zanpakuto horizontally in front of her, and, just when Ulquiorra reached a certain altitude, said "Utae, Gamuza (Declare, Chamois)!" A massive amount of reiatsu burst out, hitting Ulquiorra, just barely above her, with the force of a freight train, throwing him across the sand. After sliding through the sand for more than thirty meters, he found surprisingly, four of his ribs, his left arm, and right wing were broken. Once he managed to stand up, he found that he had lost his lance and it had exploded about fifteen meters away.

'Clever. Hitting me with her Zanpakuto release at just the right moment.' Ulquiorra thought as he looked to where Nel was standing. 'But once I break off my arm and wing, I can regenerate them, and I'll have the advantage again.'. Just before he could reach his broken arm, he had to dodge a spinning lance attack.

'What the hell?' he though angrily as he looked to the origin of the lance and saw Nel flash in front of him. She had transformed into a centaur-like creature, with green fur that held a reddish tinge, a black stripe down her back culminating in a black horse tail, white armor pads on her upper arms and shoulders, and her mask's horns had grown longer and curved downward toward her cheeks. Ulquiorra only just managed to register this change in his mind when she reared up and slammed down, her hooves scrapping against Ulquiorra's face, and taking out one eye. All Ulquiorra could think was 'I'm in deep shit.' as Nel turned around and kicked him in the face with her hind hooves.

Starrk found himself wondering 'How did I get myself into THIS?' as he faced against his new enemy, Tousen, who had intercepted him just as he tried to rejoin Barragan and Harribel. "How could you betray Aizen?" Tousen yelled furiously as he tried to fight with what little flesh remained on his limbs. "Simple. I hated him." Starrk answered, as though stating the obvious.

"That is unacceptable!" Tousen retorted. "Aizen is the KEY to justice in this world. Believing that justice is desirable is not enough. You must have POWER, and Aizen IS that power! How can you stand in the way of justice?" he ranted as Starrk looked on bored. "No matter. I'll crush you with one blow!" Tousen concluded as he raised his charred hand to his forehead and pulled down, like you would a pair of glasses.

There was a burst of black reiatsu that engulfed Tousen, and when it cleared his face was covered in a white mask, bifurcated with a vertical line down the center. As soon as the mask appeared, his arms and legs regenerated, until it seemed as though they were never burned to begin with. "Much better." he muttered as he raised his sword and yelled "Bankai!".

The ring on the guard spun around and enlarged. Then the ring multiplied into ten rings and floated in a perimeter above the two combatants, while black reiatsu engulfed them both in a large dome. 'What is this?' Starrk thought, more intrigued than scared. 'I can't see or hear.', he continued when he felt a punch hit him squarely in the stomach. Once he recovered, he fired twice in the direction where the punch came from, only to be kicked from behind, and skittered across the sand.

"Sorry Starrk, but you can't defeat me by trying to guess where I am." Tousen said. "The dome completely destroys your sight, hearing, and smell. Even the strongest of warriors instinctively feel fear, and that fear no matter how slight makes them hesi-" he started, only to feel Starrk very NEARLY hit him and had to dodge.

'How did he..? He almost GOT me! Impossible!" Tousen thought as he rushed toward Starrk.

Ichigo and Gin had finally ended their second game of tag and were battling one-on-one. Although Ichigo had the longer, heavier weapon, Gin's shorter, lighter Zanpakuto gave him a superior defense, as he parried every one of Ichigo's attacks. 'Damn! Double Damn!' Ichigo thought as he failed again to hit his opponent and Gin only smiled more widely. "Seems as though you've not improved a bit. How did you EVER get this far?" Gin sarcastically asked as he thrust at Ichigo, and twisted his pommel again.

'Shit! Bankai!" Ichigo yelled as black reiatsu engulfed him, and he emerged holding Tensa Zangetsu. Gin opened his eyes in surprise and started to laugh. "THAT'S your Bankai?" he asked between laughs. "You should know better than to judge an opponent by the size of his weapon." Ichigo replied as he moved so quickly, he left hundreds of afterimages. Gin's laughter abruptly stopped as he watched Ichigo's little show. His moment of frozen surprise ended when he saw Ichigo run at him, slashing at his chest...but just as he moved to block it, he felt not only that attack, but dozens of others all over his body in quick sequence.

For a moment it seemed like Gin had died and collapsed...but Ichigo felt his eyes widen when he saw Gin rise again, his wounds quickly regenerating. "Sorry, but you won't kill me that easily. My healing abilities were increased by the Hogyoku." he said, his grin back in place and he lengthened his sword, attempting to impale Ichigo, who of course dodged and said "This is getting INTERESTING." and he ran at Gin again, trying his multiple afterimages again. This time though Gin wasn't fooled as he blocked and parried all of Ichigo's attacks. "I took time to analyze your attack patterns and the delay between them. If I can block one, then I can block them all. Your luck has run out." he said, grinning as he prepared against Ichigo's next round of attacks.

Yammy was getting very tired, failing again and again to free himself, not knowing or not caring that his activity only spread the poison faster. His arm had turned green and shriveled up from the poison; short of breath, his vision began blurring; his horns were falling off, and his reflexes had slowed considerably. He still remained as strong and tough as ever, stubbornly refusing to give in, even as he felt the poison destroying him from the inside.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll KILL ALL YOU GARBAGE!" he roared, though that only exhausted him further and spread the poison even faster. 'Can you believe this guy?' Harribel thought as she rolled her eyes up. 'Even caught in a vice he STILL calls us trash.' and she began spinning the water while simultaneously sharpening it, effectively creating a giant inverted blender around Yammy.

She floated up to his face and said "Try to get outta THAT one.". Yammy, incredibly, felt himself start to bleed as the skin was cut. 'Must be the poison. DAMNIT!' he thought as his fury increased again, temporarily repairing the damage and allowing him to start charging a Cero...only to cover his mouth as he started coughing up blood. When he stopped coughing, he opened his mouth, gathering energy there and restarted charging a Cero, gathering red reiatsu so strong and so hot he singed his mask surrounding it.

Just as he was about to fire it, the energy was reabsorbed into his body, in a desperate instinctive attempt to stop the poison. He clutched his throat, feeling his windpipe opening and closing sporadically, inhibiting his breathing. He then lost all feeling in his infected arm and watched it begin to drop, ripping free from his arm due to weight and poison, remaining attached by only a thin strip of flesh. Finally, his vision blacked out, leaving him blind, and his legs started burning as though they were in a supernova.

Even so, he refused to give up as he charged one last Cero from his remaining good hand. Rolling their eyes, Harribel and Barragan decided they had had enough and began charging their respective Cero attacks. "Agua Cero(Water Cero)!" Harribel said as spinning water began gathering at her right hand talon. "Veneno Cero(Poison Cero)!" Barragan said as he opened his jaws and green energy began forming there. 'He doesn't deserve this. But he's giving me a headache.' They thought simultaneously as their attacks hit home and obliterated the Cero Espada.

At the same time, Nel seriously began kicking Ulquiorra around the place, who had FINALLY managed to regenerate his broken arm and wing, but only after Nel ripped them out herself. Making matters worse for him, he found that due to the immense reiatsu emanating from Nel he couldn't fly, and so had to fight hand-to-hand...or hand-to-hand-&-hoof in this case.

'I won't last long if we continue fighting like this. I'll have to end it here.' Ulquiorra thought as he charged another Lanza del Relampago and threw it at her, followed by another and another until he launched over ten lances within a minute. Amazingly, half of the time they hit their target, but Nel only suffered a negligible burn. 'Damn it! Guess the color isn't ALL that's changed.' Ulquiorra thought as he charged and launch a Cero Oscuras... one of the largest he ever used.

"Like that'll work." Nel muttered as she performed her Cero Doble, swallowing it and firing it back at him... only to discover that he wasn't there, but in the air and firing another. Staying as cool as a cucumber, Nel launched her Lanzador Verde right into the Cero, where the most incredible phenomena occurred.

The two attacks didn't cancel each other out, nor just continue to their targets as though nothing was there. Instead, Nel's lance began gathering the Cero Oscuras energy and using it to push it faster and harder...and the more it gathered, the faster it went...until it emerged and flew with such speed it seemed like trick of light...unless you were Ulquiorra who happened to be at the receiving end of that lance.

He threw a hand to protect himself...but for all it was worth he may as well have tried to stop an asteroid in its path. It ran through his arm like wet tissue paper, burrowed into his chest, destroying his right lung and right atria, and blew out the other side, leaving a hole twice as large as the entry point. And even THEN, the lance didn't stop. It continued, destroying everything in its path, including, ironically, Runuganga's main body.

Seeing Ulquiorra collapse, Nel returned to her normal state and started walking away. "Why don't you finish me off?" Ulquiorra asked, genuinely curious. "I repaid Ichigo, and made you pay by giving you a new hole. There's no need to fight you anymore." she said as she continued walking away. "But.." she added, stopping abruptly. "if you try coming after us, I'll kill you without hesitation. Think about that." and she continued, leaving Ulquiorra to bleed out his injuries.

In the dome, Starrk and Tousen, still Hollowfied, were fighting to a stalemate. Although Starrk was deprived of his senses, he still had his sense of touch, and was still very fast. Combining these, he was able to dodge Tousen's attacks just as his blows landed, and counterattack with his pistols. However, the damage he was able to do was limited since Tousen was also very fast and had regeneration abilities on par with Ulquiorra.

'He can't see, hear, smell, or sense reiatsu. So how can he STILL fight?' Tousen asked himself in frustration and bewilderment as he launched another attack aimed at Starrk's neck. However, Starrk managed to dodge the attack just as the sword cut the first hair of his head and shoot ten times in Tousen's gut at point-blank range, though the damage soon repaired itself.

'Man this is boring.' Starrk thought as he finished firing. 'I know he won't kill me since I'm faster than him, but I want my nap. I gotta finish this quickly, but I need to find him first. So how do I do that?' he finished just as Tousen attacked again, aiming for his heart.

But this time, Tousen doubled over in pain, and hit Starrk's stomach instead of his heart, the sword now at a downward angle. Starrk, feeling the point enter his body twisted around, and hit Tousen in the temple with a side-kick, sending him flying.

'That's odd. Why didn't he hit my heart?' Starrk wondered. 'He had the perfect shot, so why'd he mess it up? Unless...when I shot him in the stomach, I must have damaged his internal organs. And while he can regenerate most of his body, the internal organs aren't in that category. So now I know he can't regenerate forever. But that still doesn't help me end the fight quickly.' Tousen attacked again, only to fail due to the pain in his stomach. Instead of stabbing Starrk in the chest as he intended, this time he hit him in the leg, and it failed to bleed. Starrk, in their now-established routine, grabbed Tousen by the hand and hit him again.

Then Starrk widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Tousen and heard him yell in pain...but lost it once he let go. 'That's odd. How could I see and hear him?' he wondered. 'Was it because I was holding him? I have to test it out the next time he attacks.' and he waited for the next attack.

But it never came, for Tousen's mask had shattered, depriving him of his Hollow powers. 'Damn! I dare not attack now, or I risk getting damaged beyond repair. And if that happens, my Bankai will dissipate, and I'll be helpless.' he thought as he simply stood his ground and waited for Starrk to attack.

Starrk also had no desire to attack, for he knew that without an idea of where Tousen was, he would only leave himself vulnerable. Besides, he had WAY too many questions running through his head. Most prominently were 'Why did he stop attacking me?' and 'How could he move in this environment without senses as well?'. The first question was rather easy. 'He must have suffered more damage than I thought.' Starrk concluded and added 'Which may mean that his mask is shattered. Even Aizen's work has its limits.'.

The other question though was much harder for him to answer. 'There's no way he could attack in a place like this if his senses were destroyed like mine. So he must have a means to shield himself from the effects...and when I grabbed him, I must have been shielded as well...and when I grabbed him I grabbed him at the hand...with the sword!' and he felt surprised again.

'Boy, am I STUPID! His sword shields him from the effects of his Bankai, so if I grab it, then I'll see him as well.' he thought happily for a moment. 'But how did he find me if he's blind? Super-hearing? Not likely, or the noise of the fights would be deafening? The smell would be equally bad. So that leaves...sensing reiatsu. And I know just what to do about it.' he thought, grinning like Kenpachi.

He raised his gun and yelled out "Kougeki, Ookami(Attack Wolves)!" and reiatsu streams began pouring from him...by the hundreds...far more than the dome could handle. Then the streams expanded...and morphed into clouds of gas...which then condensed into solid shapes...solid wolves that is.

And unfortunately for Tousen, he was surrounded by at least ten of these wolves and more were pouring in. 'I got to get outta here!' he thought as he tried to Flash Step away...only to be bitten by one of the wolves...which refused to let go.

Starrk, via his spiritual connection with the wolves, felt Tousen in his grasp and appeared before him. Grabbing his sword hand, he simply said "It's over." and launched a Cero, blowing a hole right through Tousen's abdomen, shattering the dome as a result.

Enraged that he was beaten by a traitor, Tousen refused to give up. "I won't lose. I...am...JUSTICE! Just as the wind casts away the clouds in the sky, I shall destroy all evil!" he yelled as he tried to heave himself up...but failed: he had lost control of his legs when Starrk destroyed his spinal column in the last Cero blast.

Starrk, getting annoyed with Tousen's ranting and pathetic activities, kicked his sword away and pointed a gun at Tousen's forehead. "It's over Tousen. And since you're too stupid to give up, I'll just kill you. But before I do, let me illustrate the depth of your stupidity." he said, bringing Tousen to look up. "You said the wind is analogous to justice, and that it casts away the clouds. But you forgot something: the wind only moves the current clouds, and it brings a new patch in. So wherever there's wind, there will be clouds. And since you're comparing the wind to justice, you're saying that justice is always fighting, and that no matter what you do, there will **always** be injustice, no matter how much wind you blow. Any nit can see that. Farewell." he said as he pressed the trigger.

Tousen, in his final moments, let Starrk's words sink in and realized 'He's right! How could I have been so stupid? In fact, by blowing away what I thought was injustice I brought something even worse: Aizen! If I only saw it sooner! DAMN IT!' and that was when the bullet entered his head and destroyed his brain, leaving him to collapse in a heap. "At last." Starrk thought as he rolled his gun and blew across the end of the barrel.

Gin was winning. Not only was Ichigo being less and less successful at scoring hits, but Gin was scoring more of his own. By randomly switching from offense to defense, he consistently caught Ichigo off guard. In their latest round Ichigo fought one-on-one, pressing Gin into a corner and was just about to deliver a killing blow when Gin twisted the pommel and released the poison. Ichigo flashed away to avoid the poison...

….only to watch Gin's sword lengthen and nearly impale him through the heart. Ichigo managed to dodge, but didn't get a chance to counterattack as Gin's sword ran at him again...and again...and again. Then suddenly, Ichigo felt himself get impaled from behind...through the right lung very close to the heart. He looked down and seemed to collapse on the sword.

"Aw well. All good things must come to an end." Gin said as he contracted his sword...only to widen his eyes in shock when he saw Ichigo get pulled in too. 'What the..?' Gin thought as Ichigo then stood up, turned around and grabbed Gin just as the sword finished sliding out of him. "Hello...and Goodbye!" Ichigo said as he slashed downward with Tensa Zangetsu, piercing Gin's lungs and severing his right arm. Next, Gin found himself punched over and over again in the face, preventing him from healing his wounds.

Just as Ichigo started hitting him again, Gin grabbed his sword and turned the pommel, releasing the poison. Ichigo then doubled over in pain and saw that his vision began clouding. "Hey King, looks like it's time to release your Hollow reiatsu." Hichigo said, sounding eager to get in the fight and concerned for Ichigo's well-being.

Ichigo nodded and let go of Zangetsu, took his new sword, and held it like he was about to draw it from his sheathe, but crouched low, bending his back leg while straightening out his front leg. 'What's he doing?' Gin wondered as he watched Ichigo's new behavior. Then Ichigo yelled "Naizou o torinozoku, Hombre-comer Bestia (Disembowel, Man-eating Beast)!" and he was engulfed in reiatsu again.

This time the force of the release was so great, Gin felt himself being forced to the ground, and he watched as the reiatsu calmed down and Ichigo emerged, in his new Hollow form, shocking Gin to the core...but only for a moment as he smirked and thought 'No matter what form he takes, he can't survive the poison.'...or so he thought as he watched Ichigo stand up and charge, forcing Gin to dodge and run for his Zanpakuto.

"How are you not DYING?" Gin yelled, no sarcasm in his voice, only pure incredulous fear. "One of my abilities is that I can alter my physiology, or my internal body workings. Using this ability, I amplified my immune system and added the protein structure of your poison to my leukocyte's memory, and let my body fight it off itself. Then my regeneration kicked in, and patched me up." Ichigo explained as he picked up Zangetsu, whispered "Sorry pal.", and charged again...and with such speed and power Gin felt himself being pushed into the ground, literally. 'This is getting interesting.' Gin thought as his trademark grin popped out. Then, as Ichigo kicked him...

….into the rubble that was Las Noches, Gin stood up and tried to put up a defense. 'Now that my poison is useless against him, I'll have to rely on my sword-fighting skills.' he thought as he parried Ichigo's attacks, threw him away, then thrusting when Ichigo was far enough. Despite all his efforts, Ichigo was much too fast and strong for Gin, dodging and parrying the attacks and then following up with a slash, punch, or kick. Not surprisingly, Gin was very beat up from Ichigo's attacks. The battle slowly turned against Gin, despite his edge in intelligence and experience.

'Man this is fun.' Ichigo thought as he beat up Gin, but then realized 'No, I gotta take care of Aizen.' frustratedly he parried another thrust. Just then, he realized something: 'Where IS Aizen? He hasn't shown at ALL since we began fighting! And there's VERY little chance that he somehow survived the flood. Which means...' he mentally trailed off as he pressed his attacks harder against Gin, who just smiled seeing Ichigo grow more frustrated.

"Why are you suddenly in a hurry?" Gin asked, his trademark sarcasm resurrecting itself. "Where's Aizen? When did he leave?" Ichigo asked furiously as he grabbed Gin by the collar and pulled him close. "Sorry no freebies." Gin said in mock apology. "But if you beat me without killing me, I'll tell you everything." he added as he punched Ichigo, throwing him into the rubble.

"All right." Ichigo said as he flashed away, again leaving afterimages, but so many it seemed as though he was moving at normal speed. 'Damn! I can't read his thoughts! WHY? Ichigo thought as he ran in circles. 'Guess I have no choice.'. 'What is this?' Gin thought as he awaited Ichigo's attack only to be taken by complete surprise when he watched Ichigo disappear, then reappear all around him and the attacks all hit...SIMULTANEOUSLY!

Amazement flicked across his face at the precision of the attacks, for Ichigo used a new weapon: his tapered tail, where the tip was composed of spikes, like a porcupines quills, that spun and bended together to form the tuft, and were then further narrowed, forming a dagger. Now he was using that dagger-tipped tail to selectively sever the voluntary neuromuscular connections...without drawing a ton of blood at that!

'Sure am glad I stayed awake during anatomy and physiology class.' Ichigo thought as he finished the job. Gin found himself unable to move his legs or remaining arm, and he started to laugh as he gathered reiatsu and yelled out "Way of Destruction, 89!"...only to feel a sharp pain in his neck and feel his reiatsu dissipate. "Sorry, no magic from you." Ichigo said as he appeared relaxed in front of Gin. Taking on a professor's stance and tone, he said, "I learned that reiatsu, while present throughout the body, is channeled through distinct pathways. They have different effects when channeled into different areas: the arm and leg muscles increase your strength, your neuromuscular junctions improve your reflexes, etc." he explained, watching Gin nod his head as though in understanding.

"However, if the connections are blocked with a large enough amount of reiatsu, then the connection won't work, not without investing just enough reiatsu, because if you put in too much, you can permanently damage the connection. So, with my claws I injected a large amount of reiatsu into the connections between your brain and your hands, so you can't use Kido, not without postponing your regeneration, which you can't afford. So, will you talk, or shall I perform a little more surgery?" He finished, staring Gin in the eye, appearing eager to do just that.

Amazingly, Gin just smiled at Ichigo...but not with his cruel, calculating fox-smile, instead it was warm...and proud. "No need for you to force me." he said and began his story. "Aizen went ahead to Karakura Town to carry out his plans, and he brought Wonderweiss, the dazed-out Arrancar, with him. That kid has the ability to block Yamamoto's fire powers, so he'll have a significant advantage over the old geezer. If you hurry you can still make it.".

Ichigo nodded and turned to go, but felt Gin grab his arm mentally, making him turn back. "There's only one way to block Aizen's hypnosis. You have to grab his Zanpakuto just as he releases it. And another thing: if you want to get the Hogyoku from him, you'll have to encase it in so much reiatsu, it will only recognize yours and not his. Otherwise, it'll go back to him. I've seen it before." he finished as Ichigo looked on with confused curiosity. "Why am I helping you? It's because I wanted the Hogyoku for myself, and I wanted a life different from Shinigami, who just fight the war against the Hollows til they die. How's that a meaningful life, kid? So don't make the mistake of fighting for them blindly, or you'll just get killed, and for a never-ending cause. Good luck." he finished as he gazed up and seemed to drift to sleep.

But, just as Ichigo moved to tell the others what he learned, Gin begged him back. "One other thing before I forget: there's another Arrancar army coming from beneath the palace. Aizen knew that eventually the Espada would betray him and prepared accordingly. He build a waterproof bunker under the palace, one that could only be opened once Harribel's flood attack was activated. Better tell them that, quickly." he added as he nodded off to sleep...for real this time.

Ichigo began turning, but did a double take in case Gin forgot ANOTHER thing. When it was apparent that he did not, he ran to Harribel and the others and said "I gotta hurry. Aizen's gone to Karakura Town, and he brought something that can block the Yamamoto's attacks. And you all better get ready, for Aizen has a secret army of Arrancar under the palace, stored in case you guys rebelled against him.".

As the words ended, the rubble began to rumble...and shake...and fly into the air as a MASSIVE army of Hollows, Arrancar, and even some Shinigami appeared. 'Shinigami?' Ichigo thought incredulous, then remembered 'The poachers! No wonder they stopped hunting Hollows after Aizen came along. Bet they've been powered up. Shit!'.

Realizing that he was running out of time, he began to attack, when he felt some new reiatsu come in from behind him, and he immediately recognized them all: 'Byakuya! Renji! Uryu! Rukia! And Dordonii! Along with Pesche and...that other guy!'. Sure enough, as he turned around, he saw them all running toward them, prepped and ready for battle.

"Looks like we can handle things here." Harribel said, gliding over to him and leaning her head to speak in his ear. "You'd better go ahead to your hometown and stop Aizen. We'll finish up here and join you at Karakura Town, but if you win and we do not come..." she stopped. "Then I'll come back. Don't worry. I promise." Ichigo said as he turned and ran through the new army, slashing and cutting everywhere, falling anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way. Just as he jumped up he watched as a portal opened up, and he heard 'Good luck!' in his head from Harribel. 'Guess it was her.' he thought and he ran down the portal, watching light come to him...and then saw his hometown appear and said "All right. Let's rumble!".

Well there's chapter 12. For those who are curious about Ichigo's release command, I based it on the Beast of Gevaudan, who left dead mutilated bodies everywhere in the area, often with their entrails devoured. So I said Disembowel, or tear out entrails, as his release command. I also decided to give Nel some of Ichigo's release characteristics, like the black stripe and the reddish tinge in her fur because she was eating some of Ichigo's reiatsu before she turned back to her adult form.

Also, I'd like to point out the sources for some of Ichigo's knowledge and release technique. I based the idea of reiatsu flowing via distinct channels through the body and the fact that you can block them by injecting your own on Naruto and Chakra. If you think about it, they're pretty much the same: both are animating life forces that can be manipulated into performing magic deeds.

The release stance I picked up from Enishi Yukishiro's Kofuku Zettosai attack in Rurouni Kenshin. His stance is just like Ichigo except he's flat against the ground and he holds the sword vertically in his left hand whereas Ichigo is off the ground, with a horizontal right-hand grip. With that I thank both Masashi Kishimoto and Nobuhiro Watsuki, authors of Naruto and Rurouni Kenshin respectively.


	13. Chapter 13: CLash of the Titans

Again I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so. Tite Kubo is the only one who can.

Aizen was thoroughly enjoying himself. Not only had he sealed Yamamoto's fire abilities, but he had destroyed three of the four towers, and was now making his way to the last. 'This won't take long.' he thought, smiling cruelly as he assessed the final tower's defenses: Toshiro Hitsugaya, Shunsui Kyoraku, and Jushiro Ukitake. The rest had been incapacitated in short order upon Aizen's arrival, and lay nearby, tending their wounds and cursing their failure, while Yamamoto was trying to support the remaining three captains while simultaneously fighting off Wonderweiss.

"You REALLY think you can defeat me?" Aizen asked, in a tone that made Gin sound genuine. The three captains just scowled and drew their swords, ready to die to stop Aizen.

Toshiro attacked first, swinging his sword as huge icicles flew at Aizen at the speed of bullets. Smirking, Aizen simply parried each of the icicles as though they were being tossed to him. Shunsui and Jushiro attacked next, flanking Aizen and striking him from both sides at incredible speed. Even so, Aizen managed to blocked each attack.

"Sorry gents, but if you're gonna have even a HOPE of defeating me, you'll have to get a LOT faster." he sneered at their surprised faces. Not ones to give up, both captains attacked again, but with greater speed and synchronicity. Amazingly, Aizen managed to block all of their attacks with his fingers, receiving not so much as a scratch.

Suddenly, Shunsui and Jushiro broke off their attacks, just as Toshiro appeared before Aizen, stabbing him in the chest, where ice burst from the sword encasing him. "His arrogance is INCREDIBLE." Toshiro said, watching the ice engulf Aizen. Once the ice completely encased Aizen, Toshiro lunged forward and shattered the ice...and widened his eyes in morbid surprise to find nothing inside.

"You thought THAT was enough?" Aizen asked before slashing Toshiro from behind. Enraged, Toshiro swung around and slashed at Aizen, sending a rain of icicles toward him. Aizen simply flashed away, and charged at Toshiro again. Slashing down, Toshiro parried and attempted to stab Aizen in the throat, who bent backward and kicked Toshiro from below in an amazing display of acrobatic prowess.

Toshiro, seeing the kick, simply took a step back, dodging the kick and attempted to stab Aizen as he exposed his back. Incredibly, Aizen ALLOWED Toshiro to stab and continued his back flip, pulling the sword and cutting all the way to the shoulder. Toshiro felt his eyebrows reach new orbits as he watched this play out and thought 'Is he SUICIDAL?'.

He did not have time to figure it out though for as Aizen stood up, pulling the sword out of him, the wound began to close up, and soon it was as if it NEVER happened. "Thanks to the Hogyoku, I can regenerate my ENTIRE body, even my internal organs and brain." he explained, seeing Toshiro frozen in place. "So there's nothing you can do to stop me.".

"So if we get the Hogyoku, then you'll be powerless." Toshiro said as he charged again. This time though, Jushiro and Shunsui attacked just before him, yelling out "Bakudo 61!" and "Hado 54!" respectively. Aizen found himself immobilized by six golden rods and struck by an intense burning fire. 'I get it!' Toshiro thought as he watched Aizen burn in the fire, down to the bones in the upper chest, and to the marrow below the waist.

'So THAT'S it.' Toshiro thought as he watched something glow in Aizen's chest with a reddish luminescence. Seeing his target, he ran forward, grabbed the gem, and ripped it out before the fire could burn him too. 'Amazing. Even after that fire, it's not even warm.' Toshiro thought as he inspected his prize. Suddenly, the Hogyoku vanished from Toshiro's hands, and after a quick look around, he saw that it had embedded itself into Aizen.

'Impossible!' Toshiro thought as he watched the Hogyoku finish repairing the damage Aizen sustained. "Sorry but the Hogyoku recognizes me as its Master, which means that it will NEVER let ANY harm come to me." he said, as he began to struggle against his prison. 'He'll never break free. That Bakudo inhibits ALL movement.' Jushiro thought as he and the other captains looked on.

Boy, were they wrong, for Aizen yelled out "Umi no Sakana. Sora no Tori. Kono Shukufuku de, Anata no Jiyuu o Kachitotte Kudasai (Fish of the Sea. Birds of the Sky. With this Divine Blessing, Win your Freedom)!". There was a large gust of reiatsu, and the six immobilizing rods shattered and were blown away. "A little freeing Kido I developed back in the Soul Society, for my eventual defection." Aizen said as he stretched himself out as though he had just woken from a very long nap.

'Guess this'll be harder than we anticipated.' and Jushiro and Shunsui charged forward, only to be parried by Aizen, who then spun around and back-handed Jushiro in the head and side-kicked Shunsui in the ribs. Smirking again, Aizen stood over the fallen captains and prepared to permanently dispatch them when they flashed away and sliced Aizen below the ribs from both sides by spinning rapidly like tops.

Thanks to their speed and the element of surprise, they managed to slice off large chunks of Aizen's flesh, sometimes cutting it clear through his body. Thanks to Aizen's regeneration abilities, however, they failed to do more significant damage, and Aizen just watched, looking bored.

'This is getting monotonous. Time to break it up.' Aizen thought and he ducked beneath the next round, and kicked at his opponents' feet. Seeing this though, Jushiro jumped and Shunsui ducked and both attacked from their respective positions to entrap Aizen between them. Aizen simply dodged the strike from above and parried the one from below. "Looks like you don't want to win." Aizen taunted as he kicked Shunsui while uppercutting Jushiro, sending them both fifteen meters away. Even so, they refused to give up, and charged again at a still smirking Aizen.

Suddenly something began to descend on Aizen. That something was...snowflakes? Unbeknownst to them, Toshiro flew up and opened up the clouds where snow began to fall. 'Won't be long now.' Toshiro thought as he watched the battle. As the snow landed on Aizen, they sprouted into ice flowers that grew with each new snowflake. Unfortunately for Aizen (ergo fortunately for everyone else), he was so fixed on enjoying the fight that he never noticed the ever-growing frozen flowerbed on his body...until one landed on his neck and inhibited his movement. "Damn it!" he shouted as he tried to shake them off...to no avail...until eventually he was covered from head to toe and seemingly stopped moving altogether. 'It's over now.' and all three captains breathed a sigh of relief.

Or so they hoped for as they gazed into the ice prison, they saw a glimmer of light and Aizen disappeared and they realized 'His hypnosis!' and began looking wildly around for the traitor. They did not have to wait for long for Aizen attacked from behind and stabbed Toshiro in the back, just missing the heart. Before Jushiro or Shunsui could retaliate, Aizen flashed away and yelled out "Hado 88...Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!" and five spears of light appeared, before running straight for the three captains.

That would have been the end for them all if Jushiro had not taken action. Flashing in front of Toshiro he held his two swords out, their points facing Aizen. When the spears reached his left sword, they fused into a single line of light that disappeared into the sword. Then a series of lights traveled up the rope connecting the swords and up through the right sword...only to be released in an incredible light show and head right for Aizen, who actually looked SURPRISED by this new development.

'That bought us some time at least.' Jushiro thought as he looked toward Aizen as the redirected attack connected. 'And Aizen can't regenerate his wounds forever. Sooner or later he's gonna run outta energy and he'll be vulnerable.'. His eyes then widened when the smoke cleared and Aizen emerged...UNSCATHED!

'Impossible!' they all thought. Aizen simply smirked and walked toward them as though they were just having a philosophical discussion. "Now that was something I forgot: your Shikai ability, Sogyo no Kotowari, which can redirect virtually any attack. But you forgot something else: the Hogyoku." and with those words something white began to grow across his body until he was completely covered. "As long as I have the Hogyoku, I can desire anything I want and it will materialize." he explained as the white substance began to reverse its activities. "So in other words you can't do a DAMNED thing to stop me." and he flashed at them.

This time it was Shunsui's turn to save them for he flashed in front of Aizen and yelled out "Irooni (Colorful Demon)! White!" and he slashed at Aizen. 'Fool.' Aizen smirked as his white substance began to coat his body again...only to feel a GARGANTUAN pain as Shunsui hit him and created a hole in his shoulder that completely separated his arm from his body. "Looks like you need to brush up on your fellow captains." Shunsui said as though Aizen was a misbehaving child.

In indignant fury, Aizen attacked Shunsui across the hat, only to look on in disbelief as his attack did not leave so much as a scratch. "Sorry Aizen. Here are the rules" we pick a color and we cannot attack anything except that color. If it's not on you, then the damage is minimal, even if it would normally be a serious wound. In contrast, if it IS on you, then the damage is increased in proportion to how much is on you, even if it would normally be a minor wound." he explained as Aizen's shoulder began to repair itself again.

"Since you already had your turn, I'll go again. White." Shunsui said as he attacked again, this time hitting Aizen in the chest, destroying his left lung and half his heart. Aizen, feeling incredible pain, doubled over as he struggled to breathe and regenerate his wounds. "All right, I get the game." he wheezed out and fought to stand up. "White." he said as he launched his attack on Shunsui and dealt a massive amount of damage, for he was almost completely white. "Looks like I've got the advantage." Aizen smirked again as he assessed the damage: Shunsui had been cut across the stomach down to the spinal cord, and was now losing a LOT of blood.

"Sorry, but you're wrong." Shunsui said as he discarded his captain robes and yelled "Black!" and slashed down the middle of Aizen's chest, severing the ribs, destroying most of the heart, and reaching the other side. Aizen, now in extreme agony, collapsed to his knees as he tried to regenerate, fury rising inside of him as he realized his mistake.

"Even if you damage me," he said. "I'll just recover eventually, so why bother?". "The more I "bother", the more time you waste, and the more time Yamamoto has to finish his battle." Shunsui responded as though it was SO obvious. "Well then, White." Aizen yelled out and attacked diagonally across Shunsui's chest, destroying his left lung, severing his ribs, and piercing the spinal cord.

"Looks like I win." Aizen said as he got up, now mostly regenerated and headed for the last tower, punching Jushiro in the gut, bringing on another assault by the man's debilitating disease. "If you're wondering why you're still alive, I want you to witness the folly of your actions, and the King's Key will benefit greatly from your sacrifice." he explained, smirking over his shoulder. 'Yamamoto, what's taking so long?' Jushiro and Shunsui asked simultaneously as they looked toward the head-captain. "I forgot to mention that Wonderweiss has another special effect: he can absorb the energy of his opponent as long as that opponent's powers are already sealed within him." Aizen explained, sensing their question. 'Could this get any worse?' they thought as they watched Aizen march to apparent victory.

'They can.' They thought grimly as they watched what seemed to be a black cavity open in the air...the kind that Arrancar use to travel between dimensions. 'Reinforcements.' they thought as a red blur emerged and ran at Aizen with incredible speed.

Much to their surprise, though, the object ATTACKED Aizen, sending him out to the outskirts with just ONE punch...and a JAB at that! The object in question then flashed away, reappeared behind Aizen and kicked out, sending Aizen flying away. This continued for another minute, until Aizen FINALLY managed to pick himself up and block his opponent's next kick, though not without being pushed over twenty meters away. Aizen, smiling, held up his Zanpakuto and said "Kudakero (Shatter)." but the figure grabbed the blade mid-sentence with its left hand, said "Sorry Aizen. That won't work on me." and raised its right hand, black reiatsu gathering. Aizen's eyebrows jumped to new orbits and said "It...can't...be!" just before the figure released its Cero, sending Aizen flying through the few skyscrapers left in the fake town.

'INCREDIBLE!' the three captains thought following the battle they had just witnessed. 'Now we can see who or what gave Aizen the ride of his life.' as they turned to see the figure, which began to turn to them. They gasped at the sheer contradiction that it represented: the figure's body was that of a beast walking on its hind legs, covered in red fur with a white stripe on its chest and stomach, a long fur-tufted tail, and long claws and blades on its forearms and calves. The face, in contrast, was human, albeit with Hollow eyes and surrounded by a white helmet and pointed ears like a hyena. For some reason, they could not tear their gaze from the face, which was very familiar... though they could not put their finger on the reason why...until a gust of wind pushed the figure's hair into sight...extremely distinctive orange hair!

"Ichigo?" they said, incredulous. The figure, apparently hearing them, flashed over to them and said "Yes, that's right, and I'm sorry but it's a long story and Aizen's still alive. I promise I'll explain later.". No sooner had he said that had Aizen flashed over him and tried to stab down, but Ichigo pirouetted on his left paw and kicked out with his right, breaking Aizen's ribs and causing internal bleeding. He then gripped Aizen's abdomen with his foot-claws and pulled away, cutting Aizen and sending him spinning. Taking advantage of Aizen's spin, Ichigo bent his knee and kicked out again, stabbing Aizen in the gut with his knee-fang, and pulled across, ripping through his entrails and brushing against the Hogyoku.

Aizen, seeing his stomach ripped open, bent over in pain, and Ichigo reached into him and pulled out the Hogyoku, only to watch it return to Aizen. Aizen, seeing Ichigo's failure, threw his head back and laughed like a madman. "You thought that you could so easily take the Hogyoku from me? You blew your best chance!" he yelled as his wounds healed. Ichigo just looked on as though he had just lost a game of Go-Fish with Aizen, leaving Aizen and everyone incredulous.

"Are you finished yet?" Ichigo asked. "I'll take that as a yes." he added when no one responded, and punched Aizen in the nose, sending him flying AGAIN. Once Aizen came to a stop, he stood up and took a defensive stance. A few tense seconds passed before Ichigo attacked again, but at sub-flash speed. Aizen smirked thinking 'His cockiness is INCREDIBLE.' and yelled out "Bakudo 99 Shokyoku: Shiryu. Ninkyoku: Hyakurensan. Shukyoku: Bankin Taiho. Bankin (First Song: Halting Fabric. Second Song: Hundred Linked Bolts. Final Song: Great Seal of 10,000 Forbiddings. Great Seal)!" and Ichigo found himself covered from head to toe with a fabric made from reiatsu, then stabbed by a barrage of metal bolts, and then finally crushed beneath a MASSIVE cube.

For a moment, everyone held their breath, for it seemed that Aizen had triumphed at last...until Ichigo appeared behind him and, yelling out "Over here, Aizen!", slashed down, drawing blood and piercing the spinal cord. For a moment, Aizen found himself a paraplegic, unable to move anything below the waist, and collapsed to the ground. Once he regenerated his wounds, he turned around to find Ichigo sitting down...sharpening his sword! Enraged by the sheer audacity Aizen leaped forward and stabbed Ichigo, only to watch him disappear, in a ripple of light...very similar to his own illusions!

'No way!' Aizen thought as he watched Ichigo disappear. "Yes way." Ichigo said, this time crouching under Aizen before jumping up and nailing Aizen under the jaw, then grabbed Aizen's leg and threw him to the fake ground, and finished up by landing on Aizen's stomach, fangs first!

Aizen, for the first time he could remember, lost consciousness as he felt the wind knocked out of him. Seeing this, Ichigo flashed towards the three captains and said "Listen guys, I'm taking it easy on Aizen since I have to watch out for my town. If one of my attacks missed, someone could die. So while I'm fighting Aizen, try to get the real town back in the Soul Society. I'll take care of the rest.". The captains, seeing the wisdom in Ichigo's words, mustered their strength and flashed away to help Yamamoto, the only one who could send Karakura back, and who was really having a hard time at that moment.

Seeing the captains depart, Ichigo turned back to Aizen, who surprisingly had NOT managed to regain consciousness. 'He must be faking. There's no way he could be THAT hurt. Unless...' Ichigo thought when he heard Aizen begin to stir, and opened his eyes, which had become gray with purple sclera...just like a Hollow!

'This is starting to get INTERESTING.' Ichigo thought as he observed the change in Aizen's eyes. Aizen waved his hand and a MASSIVE wave of reiatsu accompanied it, but Ichigo remained unfazed and said "What a nice BREEZE. PLEASE do it some more. It's so REFRESHING.", his voice marinated in sarcasm. Infuriated, Aizen thrust with his Zanpakuto, but Ichigo parried it, then straightened his sword and stabbed Aizen through the chest, collapsing his left lung, then finished with a lateral slash outward, cutting through Aizen's chest and slicing off his arm.

Ichigo was not through though, for he spun around, kicking Aizen three times in the solar plexus, cutting with his foot claws each time, then stabbed through the chest, collapsing the right lung this time, before pulling down, cutting Aizen diagonally from the right scapula to the left hip. Adding to Aizen's misery, Ichigo punched Aizen in the gut, repeated just like Grimmjow beat him up in their first fight. Finally, adding insult to injury, Ichigo grabbed Aizen's hand and started punching Aizen with it, yelling "Quit hitting yourself! That's NO way to get over your lack of worth and self-esteem." as he did so.

Toshiro, Jushiro, and Shunsui had managed to reach Yamamoto, who was by now on his last legs in his fight with Wonderweiss. Seeing the Sotaicho in danger, they leaped into action, hacking at...whatever Wonderweiss had become, trying to distract him, and find out a weakness while they were at it.

Amazingly, Wonderweiss remained unfazed, as though nothing had changed. 'Guess we took more damage than we thought.' they speculated at their failure, but did not dwell on it as they had no time. Jushiro and Shunsui, for lack of a better plan, decided to distract Wonderweiss while Toshiro jumped above him and flew himself at Wonderweiss. Simultaneously, the three captains stabbed with all their strength, but failed to do much of anything. Making matters worse, Wonderweiss grew an extra set of arms and whacked them all away as though they were just pesky flies.

The blow knocked Toshiro and Jushiro out of the fight due to aggravated injuries in the former and the latent disease in the latter. Seeing his friends down and Yamamoto beginning to lose consciousness, Shunsui said to himself "Guess I've got no choice." and he held out his swords and yelled "Bankai!". There was a rush of multicolored reiatsu that engulfed Shunsui, briefly bringing Wonderweiss's attention for a few milliseconds. When the reiatsu cleared up, Shunsui's longer sword had transformed into a kind of net that surrounded he and Wonderweiss while the shorter one had condensed into a kind of ball, made of pure multicolored energy that Shunsui held in his hand.

"All right, listen up." Shunsui said as he tossed the ball up and down, apparently holding Wonderweiss's full attention. "My Bankai is essentially a giant game of kemari, and just like the game, we try to keep the ball from touching the ground, and we can use anything EXCEPT our hands. Unlike the game, though, there are only two players and if you drop the ball, it will explode, hence the name 'Bakuhatsu butsu Kemari'. Any questions?". Wonderweiss, as usual, said nothing. "All right let's begin." Shunsui responded as he kicked the ball to Wonderweiss.

Wonderweiss, still in his daze, just let the ball fly past them and land on the ground, causing it to explode, though without much force behind it. The ball then rematerialized in front of Wonderweiss who tried to grab hold of it with his hands, causing it to explode AGAIN, but with much more force this time. "Sorry, I forgot to mention." Shunsui said, seeing Wonderweiss mess up a second time. "Every time you make a mistake or break the rules, the explosion will get stronger, so TRY not to make any more. I'd feel better if my opponent put up more of a fight." and the ball rematerialized in front of Wonderweiss, who apparently learned from his mistake and kicked the ball towards the Shunsui. Moving with great speed, Shunsui intercepted the ball and kicked it back to Wonderweiss, who tried to hit the ball with his elbow, but was not fast enough and let the ball hit the ground. Once again, the ball exploded, this time with enough force to bruise Wonderweiss.

The ball rematerialized in front of Wonderweiss, who kicked it back to Shunsui, with a much stronger kick than last time. Shunsui managed to intercept the ball, slowing it down with his elbow, tossing it up into the air, and headbutting it back to Wonderweiss with tremendous speed. Wonderweiss, seeing the ball return to him, readied himself to block it, but, due to his lack of brains and his massive size, the ball flew past him and hit the ground AGAIN, and exploded with enough force to make Wonderweiss cry in pain and begin bleeding.

Once again, the ball rematerialized before Wonderweiss, who kicked it back to Shunsui, although with a little less force than before. 'Guess he's starting to wear out.' Shunsui thought as he waited for the ball to reach him. In a move worthy of Soifon, he spun on one foot, caught the ball with his knee, rolled it down his leg, and kicked it with the top of his free foot. Wonderweiss, still in awe at Shunsui's brilliant display, and just watched as the ball flew past him and exploded AGAIN, with enough force to sever his extra arms, destroy a good proportion of his back, and cause him to bleed profusely.

'Now I know I'm getting somewhere.' Shunsui thought as he watched Wonderweiss shriek in agony. Once again, the ball rematerialized before Wonderweiss who, in a surprising feat of strength, kicked the ball, and seemingly flew it over Shunsui. Then, in an unexpected display of coordination and dexterity, he jumped up, flipped himself over, and intercepted the ball with a bicycle kick. Not only did he intercept the ball, but he sent it sailing back to Wonderweiss with enough speed to make it blur. Unable to intercept the ball, Wonderweiss simply watched a**s** the ball flew under his arm**,** and exploded with enough force to disintegrate half of Wonderweiss's body.

"Oh man, I forgot to mention something else." Shunsui said, seeing the damage caused by the latest explosion. "Just as you get extra points for putting up a good show, the explosion gets more powerful for blocking and kicking with theatrics. Normally, in this game, the rounds would last longer, and the "points" would be added up until one player messed up and got blown up, then the score would go back to zero for both players. But not in this case. Sorry. Need to watch my liquor." he explained as the ball rematerialized before Wonderweiss.

Wonderweiss, now in excruciating pain, barely managed to kick the ball to Shunsui. "Guess I might as well end this." Shunsui muttered to no one in particular and intercepted the low, slow ball with his right elbow, bounced it up into the air, and jumped up, tossing the ball ever and ever higher into the air with his insteps...while spinning at the same time. Once the ball reached its peak, he flipped over as though preparing another bicycle kick, but instead had the ball land on his stomach, roll down his leg, and launched once he brought his leg around 180 degrees.

Wonderweiss, mentally void, and slow even at his peak, could only watch as the ball flew past him and hit the ground ONCE MORE. This explosion was so powerful, Wonderweiss was completely obliterated. Then, to Shunsui's surprise and his tailor's future angst, a MASSIVE ball of flame appeared and charred Shunsui's clothes, leaving him singed but relatively rare (steak joke). 'Now for Old Man Yamamoto.' Shunsui thought after putting out the last fire and turned around, and saw the Sotaicho rise up, completely revitalized, holding his Shikai high in the air.

Smiling to himself, Shunsui flashed over to Yamamoto and said "Listen Sotaicho, you gotta replace the town again.". "I figured that, but why should I be doing that and not fighting Aizen?" Yamamoto asked, sincere confusion in his eyes. "Because if you don't, people could die from the fallout of the battle. And Ichigo could probably finish the job better if he didn't have to worry about that. Long story, so don't ask." he said, adding the last line quickly seeing the Sotaicho about to start asking a long line of questions.

"All right, I'll get to work." Yamamoto said as he turned toward the center of the fallen towers and flashed above it. There he held his hands like a cat's cradle, but then pulled his fingers to himself while closing them into fists, touched them together, intertwined his fingers, and then pulled them out back into the cat's cradle. There was a GARGANTUAN burst of reiatsu that flowed outward from his hands in four arcs and connected to the towers, which began to glow, and then grow, until they regained their full height, and a light began to spread over the town, replacing the town with an almost perfect copy...ALMOST perfect as even the former Wonderweiss could have seen something was up as there was no movement at all, not even gnats.

"Well, that's that." Yamamoto said as he turned to face Shunsui...and suddenly collapsed. Shocked, Shunsui ran forward and caught the Sotaicho before he could fall to the ground. "Guess I'm not as energetic as I used to be." he muttered. "You past THAT stage seven centuries ago." Shunsui scoffed as he held up Yamamoto and looked to Ichigo, thinking 'It's all clear Ichigo. Go for it!'.

'All right. Thanks.' Ichigo thought, hearing Shunsui in his head, and upped his attacks, sending Aizen, extremely bruised, flying against the ground to the outskirts of the now fully restored town replica. Sporting a grin that would make even Grimmjow proud, Ichigo flashed over to where Aizen finally stopped and seeing the trench dug into the ground, a meter deep and over 200 hundred meters long, said to himself "Man am I glad this is a fake.". Closer examination showed that Aizen had stopped in a pile of rubble from a 20 story apartment building that collapsed upon his entry, making Ichigo chuckle to himself and said "They may need to get a fake FOR the fake." while crossing his arms, waiting for Aizen to come out.

Ten minutes past...then fifteen...then twenty...finally half an hour past and Ichigo was beginning to lose patience. 'He must be up to something. There's no WAY he'd be taking this long if he wasn't.' he thought as he tried to sense Aizen's reiatsu, and discovered that the reiatsu wasn't there. 'Guess he managed to sneak away. But where?' and Ichigo began looking around.

"There you are." he said just as Aizen stabbed him in the chest, just missing the heart. "Sorry Aizen, but... you MISSED!" and Ichigo disappeared, as before, and reappeared before Aizen. "I had no idea you wanted to be so close to my heart, especially considering your track record." Ichigo said, sarcasm drenching his words. "Quite a coincidence that I ALSO want to be close to YOUR heart, so let me help you." Ichigo added as he pinned Aizen's arms with his tail and dug his hand into Aizen's chest, grabbing his heart, keeping a firm grip but allowing room for it to pump.

"Now, let's try to get closer, or at least our hearts." Ichigo said as he violently yanked back, ripping Aizen's heart out without pulling it from the blood vessels and held it between them, surprise written all over his face. "You HAVE a heart? Boy am I surprised!" he said as he gripped it tighter, inhibiting its ability to pump, and shortening Aizen's breathing. "But I suppose it could be an illusion. Let's put it to the test!" Ichigo said as he squeezed the heart harder and harder, reducing Aizen's pulse down to near zero, quickening his breath further and his complexion began to turn faint blue.

"From your reaction, I'd say this is NOT an illusion. But that TOO could be an illusion. Let's put it to the ultimate hurdle!" and with that Ichigo crushed Aizen's heart, spilling large quantities of blood and stopping his breath altogether. After an intensely painful moment, Aizen managed to pull himself up, and start breathing again. "Close, but once again the Hogyoku saved me." he sneered as Ichigo just looked on. "Guess you'll have to try again." Aizen said as he raised his Zanpakuto...or at least tried when he remembered Ichigo's tail was still pinning down his arms.

"Oh sorry." Ichigo said as he unwrapped his tail and charged Aizen again. To his credit, Aizen managed to dodge and sliced his Zanpakuto across Ichigo's stomach, scraping his armor, and he dodged again when Ichigo tried to counterattack. This continued for another two minutes, Aizen attacking successfully and countering Ichigo's retaliatory strikes perfectly. As Ichigo tried to kick Aizen he jumped into the air and slashed his Zanpakuto downward, flipping over as he approached Ichigo to increase the force.

Ichigo, quickly remembering a move he once saw, lifted his sword to intercept Aizen, but kicked out with his foot against the back of the sword, drastically increasing its speed and power. The two attacks had such power, the impact sent vibrations through both combatants bodies, briefly stunning them. 'IF I live through this, I'll NEVER get into one of those vibrating chairs AGAIN.' Ichigo thought as he tried to steady himself. 'But now am I glad I read some of Keigo's manga.' he added seeing that his counterattack not only left Aizen stunned, but he was vibrating so much that he started bleeding from the hands and swaying as though he bought Rangiku WAY too much sake.

'I'll thank Keigo later for letting me read his...his...what's the name of that manga? Something to do with a red-haired wandering swordsman. I'll figure it out later.' he thought as he finally managed to steady himself. After Aizen managed to do the same, he asked "What was that move, Kurosaki?". "Something I borrowed from a friend." he answered and the two resumed their fight, this time Aizen found himself having a MUCH harder time with Ichigo, who started countering his attacks much more successfully.

'Was he just gauging my power level?' Aizen wondered as he swung his Zanpakuto in a wide arc, then followed that up with a roundhouse kick. Ichigo ducked beneath the sword and blocked Aizen's kick with his forearm, then threw his elbow high, kicking down with his legs to swing Aizen's leg straight into the air and sending him flipping over. Ichigo, seeing his opportunity, flashed above Aizen and ax-kicked him in the face, and flashed again as Aizen plummeted towards the ground. He reappeared beside Aizen and kicked sideways, then repeated the cycle until Aizen began tumbling downwards, head and heels alternating positions with one another. 'This outta be sweet.' Ichigo thought as he flashed beneath Aizen and stabbed upward, impaling Aizen near the lumber vertebrae. THAT would have been agony, but to add to Aizen's misery, his tumbling did not end with that and he kept going, allowing Ichigo to cut through his chest and nearly divide him into one and two thirds.

Ichigo, however, decided to add to Aizen's misery AGAIN by grabbing Aizen by the back of his head, halting his tumble and nearly snapping his neck, and stabbed upwards with his knee, then pulled his knee upwards, spinning Aizen and spraying blood everywhere. Vomit would have been next if Ichigo did not punch Aizen upwards, rocketing to the moon. 'Looks like Neil Armstrong's boots will have some competition.' Ichigo thought as he watched the Aizen fly to high orbit.

Taking this as a time-out, Ichigo looked around and noticed the presence of some spectators. "Come on out guys." he said as he flashed over to them. It was the Vizards, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Tessai, and... his DAD? The preschooler in a middle-aged body? The one who very nearly drove Ichigo insane with his crazy, violent wake-up calls? 'When the heck did THAT happen?' he wondered as he looked them over.

"So, how long were ya gonna keep that low profile?" he asked, half-annoyed, half-curious. "We thought we'd just be reinforcements in the worse-case scenario." Kisuke explained, foregoing the customary fan ('Thank you Gods!' Ichigo prayed). "But it turns out... AIZEN may need the reinforcements." Yoruichi added, her usual mischief in her eye. Just as Ichigo was about to laugh, he ducked, reached upward, and grabbed hold of a certain blond-haired snaggletoothed can of violence. "Hey! What's the big idea? I stop a power-mad bastard and THIS is how you repay me?" he yelled as the can in question tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "The big idea is: WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF?" the can, Hiyori, yelled back.

Just as Ichigo was about to respond, Kisuke coughed rather loudly and said "I think that's too long a story for us to hear right now.". "I'll deal with you later." Ichigo muttered and slammed Hiyori down and stomped on her. "Security," he added, shrugging his shoulders and looking in Shinji's direction, who just rolled his eyes.

"All right, listen Ichigo. I noticed that Aizen's having a harder and harder time regenerating." Kisuke said after Ichigo looked back to him. "I think the Hogyoku is beginning to reject Aizen as its master as he's showing weakness... a LOT. So now, Aizen's being forced to devote more of his energy to asserting his will over the Hogyoku. Just a little longer Ichigo and the Hogyoku will force its way out." he explained as Ichigo nodded in understanding...but then shook his head in denial at the last statement.

"There's the problem: Aizen's found a way to imbue his reiatsu into the Hogyoku, and as long as that remains, the Hogyoku will respond only to _his_ reiatsu, even if it doesn't want to, because it's surrounded by Aizen." he responded, making Kisuke and everyone else frown in defeat. "Don't worry. I've a plan to solve that problem." Ichigo added, perking everyone up again. "Right now, I need you to do as I say. Hachi, did you heal the wounded while I was battling Aizen?" he asked, looking to the giant in the green tuxedo. "Yes, I did so as soon as I arrived, and just as well. If I had been just a few seconds later, a good number would've been beyond help." he answered.

"Good. Now all of you, pick a tower and defend it with everything you've got. Aizen's down but he's not out. And when I left Hueco Mundo, there was a MASSIVE army emerging from the palace. I've got some people intercepting that, but I don't know how long they hold out." he continued, everyone fixating their attention on him. "I'll take care of Aizen and get the Hogyoku. You keep watch on the towers and be prepared in case his army turns up. Once we have the Hogyoku, we're moving to Hueco Mundo along with whoever wants to keep fighting. Dismissed." he finished and his audience divided into four groups and each headed for a particular tower.

"What about me?" Hiyori yelled out as she felt the others depart and tried to wriggle out from under Ichigo's foot. "I've got a special assignment for you, and if you don't like it, you can kick me later." Ichigo answered, making Hiyori stop thrashing and listen up. "Listen you..." and Ichigo leaned down and whispered her assignment, and after receiving a confirming nod, let her go and she flashed away. "Now for my part." he muttered as he flashed to where Aizen was.

While Ichigo was on his break, Aizen was doing his best to recover from his beating... and not very well at that for he only looked marginally better than when Ichigo launched him into orbit. While he was back in one piece, his wounds still showed where he had been cut, punched, kicked, everything clearly visible. "Looks like I'll have to wait." Ichigo said, impatience evident in his voice. "It's no fun if the enemy can't fight back." he added, enraging Aizen and making him charge head-on like a bull from a chute. Seeing the attack coming, Ichigo lazily side-stepped and kicked Aizen in the back, aggravating his wounds and sending him tumbling again.

"Sorry Aizen, but you know how it is: it's hard to step on ants without crushing them." Ichigo sneered, earning a look of pure loathing from Aizen. "Well, if it's hard for ants, how about a WORM?" Ichigo snickered. "How DARE you?" Aizen yelled out and massive reiatsu erupted from him with such density and ferocity Ichigo was impressed. 'He still has that much left? **GOOD!**' Ichigo thought as he braced himself for Aizen's attack.

Just as Aizen's attack was about to connect, Ichigo stuck out a single claw and stopped it, deeply surprising Aizen. "Isn't it interesting Aizen? I feel like we've fought this battle before. But why?" he asked, with sarcasm on par with Gin. Leaving Aizen to fume for a moment, Ichigo answered his own question: "Oh I know. We HAVE fought this fight before, but our ROLES have switched: I am the demigod, and YOU'RE the helpless weakling." and Ichigo wrapped his finger around Aizen's blade and twisted it into a spiral, and, much to Aizen's horror, Ichigo let out a burst of reiatsu that cut all the way through to Aizen's spine, though miraculously had managed to avoid killing him.

In blind rage, Aizen punched out, missing Ichigo's face by such a margin, even Wonderweiss would not have reacted. 'Interesting.' Ichigo thought, analyzing Aizen's reiatsu. 'It grows stronger when he gets angry, and it's not JUST anger. There's an element of pain in it, as if...as if he was reliving a painful bitter memory.'. Ichigo then smiled at this and thought 'So THAT'S it.' as he parried another desperate punch from Aizen, blocking him to the side, grabbing the offending arm, and throwing him into the air behind him.

As Aizen came to a stop, Ichigo charged forward and landed a barrage of punches on Aizen's face, reliving his first fight with Grimmjow. After about a hundred punches, Ichigo then pulled out his tail, which had Aizen's twisted Zanpakuto, grabbed it, and wrapped it around Aizen's waist, tying it into a knot using the point and the pommel. The sword was wrapped so tight, Aizen felt what was left of his ribs shatter, shortening his breath and he started coughing up blood. To top it off, Aizen's face, due to anger and the blood rushing to his head, began turning red, so much so that Ichigo remarked 'And I thought Hime-chan looked red.'.

As Aizen struggled to free himself, he began to realize something: the Hogyoku is NOT regenerating me! "About time you noticed." Ichigo said, hearing Aizen's realization in his mind. "Wasn't strange how the Hogyoku didn't give you the power needed to crush me once and for all? Wanna know why?" he continued, Aizen's face giving way to curiosity mixed with his rage. "It sensed that you were weak, and it wants to get out. But since you trapped it inside you by imbuing your reiatsu inside of it, so it's fighting back the one way it can: denying you its power." he explained, infuriating Aizen further.

"Impossible! I'm not a weakling! I am the one to take the place of the Spirit King! I'm INVINCIBLE!" he yelled out, desperately attempting to escape, with Ichigo being a captive audience for Aizen's new show "How to make a complete idiot out of a super-genius?". After about five minutes of futile struggling Ichigo thought 'Maybe it's time to put him outta his misery...and ours. But first, a few questions.' and he coughed, gaining Aizen's attention. "I'd like to keep on torturing..ah-ha, FIGHTING you, but I'm pressed for time, so I guess I'll end this. But first, let me ask you something: were you bullied as a human?".

Aizen, for a whole moment, went stiff as a statue, then asked "What do you mean?". "All the bluster about invincibility and power means you're a megalomaniac, and I was wondering where that came from. I noticed that you got angry when you thought you were weak, so I figured you were bullied at some point. Since I can't find any mention of such in the Soul Academy's records, I figured it was from when you were alive." he explained.

"Don't be ridiculous! At my school, having greasy hair was a sign of growing up. Being short was an indication of health. And near-sightedness from reading too much was a symbol of intelligence!" Aizen retorted. "Oh really?" Ichigo asked, skepticism all over his face. "Let's test that, shall we? Scroll on, Slimy Sosuke? Booky Blind Beanstalk?" and Aizen turned so red it seemed as though he could just MELT the sword away.

Ichigo went on with the names and insults, but Aizen was not listening. At that moment, he was thinking back to when he was human: a short, bookworm with greasy hair and spectacles like Benjamin Franklin. Day in and day out, the other children mocked and bullied him over everything and by every possible means of the day. Every evening he returned home and asked himself 'Why does this happen to me?'. He found the usual answers unsatisfactory for the bullying continued to his death and he never saw anyone else endure the same treatment. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he was superior to everyone else and became determined to prove his superiority. Using all of his knowledge, he began injecting himself with various potions to increase his physical prowess, potions that he had mastered using animal test subjects, all the while fantasizing about experimenting on his old tormentors. Eventually, he corrected his myopia, grew larger and more muscular, and become an impressive specimen that excelled in martial arts, physical sports, and intellectual pursuits. All-in-all, he was superior...except in one thing.

He was mortal, as he found out the day he was killed. He had been challenged to a death match by a swordsman, who was close kin to Aizen's guinea pigs. Arrogantly, Aizen accepted and found himself outmatched, for his opponent fought more through instinct than strategy, making him unpredictable and preventing Aizen from correctly gauging his opponent. It also turned out that his opponent was highly experienced, having won more than two hundred battles across all kinds of opponents, giving him the advantage of predicting all of Aizen's tactics and plans by accurately gauging his personality type. With these advantages, Aizen found himself sliced in half in just two moves.

Aizen found himself overlooking his dead body and thought 'I need to get stronger.' Soon after, he was found by a Shinigami and allowed to cross into the Soul Society, where he immediately enrolled in the Academy, and excelled as a student, quickly reaching third seat of Squad Five. Suspiciously, he stopped moving up until he met Shinji, who, suspecting him of shady deeds, made him his Lieutenant. And the rest is history.

Ichigo finished with the names and insults and saw Aizen so red he thought "His brain's gonna BOIL at this rate. Better hurry.'. He walked up to Aizen and, with three finger snaps, brought Aizen back to the present. "I guess it's time to end this for good. Too bad. I was hoping to hurt you for each and every person you hurt: Rukia, Renji, Orihime, Shinji and the Vizards, Kisuke, myself, and others. But I don't have time." he said counting off his claws. "I also don't have the right to kill you. Only the person you hurt the most does." he added and turned towards one of the towers and thought 'You ready? Then come over here.'. A minute later, someone flashed over, the very LAST one you'd expect.

Momo Hinamori. The Lieutenant of Squad Five stood next to Ichigo and, hesitantly nodding, drew her Zanpakuto and said "Bankai!". A fire erupted from the sword and engulfed the blade, and eventually her as well. When the fire died down, her Zanpakuto had morphed into a red and gold sword, and the prongs were wider and curved inward toward the tip, which was now shaped like a claw that curved to the former in-blade. "We're ready." she said, holding her fire-shaped Bankai across her chest.

Nodding, Ichigo retracted his fingers, straightening his claws and plunged into Aizen's chest, grabbed the Hogyoku, and ripped it out. Before Aizen's imbued reiatsu could pull it back to him, Ichigo, having cut his fingers on Tensa Zangetsu, fired a Gran Rey Cero in the hand holding the Hogyoku, expelling all of Aizen's reiatsu and making it his. "Well that's done. And now Hinamori-Fukutaicho." he said.

Nodding, she held her Zanpakuto and prepared to slash across Aizen's chest. She stopped though, seeing him in such pain and in obvious need of medical assistance. 'Don't tell me you're getting cold feet.' Ichigo thought, bewildered at her hesitance. 'You told Hiyori that you'd do ANYTHING to help. We've got a LOT of work to do.' he exasperated as he waited for Momo to make a move.

Aizen, seeing a chance, said "Momo, you don't have to do this. I'm helpless. I've lost the Hogyoku. What harm can I do?". Boy was he wrong for Momo's eyes lost all hesitance and replaced it with a cold fury followed by a sudden wave of reiatsu that made Ichigo freeze in place. 'I guess it's true what they say: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' he thought, then added 'They should include woman betrayed and nearly murdered.'. He watched as Momo slashed across Aizen's chest, with almost NO effect save for a small scratch.

"So, you are as stupid as ever. And to think I had something to worry about." Aizen said, laughing despite the pain in his ribs and the shortness of breath. Suddenly, smoke started coming out of his clothing, which became thicker and thicker until it caught on fire, and eventually spread to Aizen's body. "What...is...THIS?" Aizen yelled out in fear.

"It is my Bankai. My Zanpakuto, Tobiume, is a fire-based Kido weapon." she began, taking on a pedantic, detached tone as though she was a professor explaining something to a slacking student. "In its Shikai state, Tobiume can shoot balls of fire, made of my reiatsu, that have enough power to burn almost anything, even some high class defensive spells. In her Bankai state, Tobiume has a different ability: she can burn enemies to death. The catch is that this only works if both combatants want to kill the other. You obviously wanted to kill me, and after you tried to sweet-talk me, on top of your treachery, I want to reciprocate." she finished as Aizen's abdomen, arms, and legs were burned to ash as he screamed in agony.

"Wait, I'm sorry!" Aizen pleaded urgently as the flames began burning his chest. "But I'm not." Momo responded, which seemed to only fuel the fire as it burned more fiercely. Within seconds, Aizen had been reduced to a pile of ash, and even then continued to burn, until nothing but a small melted slate was left.

"So how'd ya do that?" Ichigo asked Momo. "The only way to stop the fire is for both sides to stop wanting the others' destruction. Obviously he didn't, or the fire would have slowed down. It sped up, and when I saw that, I knew he wanted me dead even more, and I reciprocated for his attempt to play me as a fool." she answered and Ichigo nodded in understanding. "And when did ya acquire Bankai?" Ichigo asked Momo, Aizen's former Lieutenant and just-turned executioner. "Just before he revealed his treachery." she answered, cool and detached. "I was going to impress him. Ironic that he chose THAT moment to defect. He may have known about my Bankai.".

"Well, that takes care of Aizen. Now for Hueco Mundo." he said as he turned to the towers, only to feel Momo's hand on his shoulder. "Is he REALLY dead?" she asked, fearful of the answer, and the possibility that she had just jinxed everyone. "Don't worry. He's dead, and I know for two reasons: I saw it, and he never hypnotized me, so he could not have been an illusion; second, I'm telepathic, so even if he DID hypnotize me, I would have known." he responded, and smiled as the fear in Momo's eyes faded. "Enough of Aizen. We've got a job to do." he continued as the two of them flashed toward the towers. "All right guys. Here's the plan. We've got some new allies: Arrancar. I don't have time to explain in detail so I'll just tell you this. They're the ones who'll be outnumbered by Aizen's Arrancar army and they be fighting alongside Renji, Orihime, Rukia, Byakuya, Unohana, Isane, and Hanataro." he explained and quickly flashed them images of their new allies telepathically. "Now you know what they look like. So whatever you do: DON'T HIT THEM." he finished, being rather firm on the last part.

Nodding once, in a rather intimidated manner, they gathered behind Ichigo and opened a portal to Hueco Mundo and jumped in...ready to finish the war for good.

Unbeknownst to all of them, four people stood in awe at the battle they had just witnessed, and fear at the brutality and animalistic savagery displayed by a person they viewed as an example of humanity to be emulated. 'Ichigo, what happened to you?' they all wondered, fearing the answer to their mutual question as they waited for his return.

Author's Notes: Here's Chapter 13. Sorry for the delay, and I'll try to write more in the near future.

A few things I need to note: First, once again thanks to Nobuhiro Watsuki, as that move Ichigo used to counter Aizen's aerial strike was Enishi's Shugeki Tosei, a move from Rurouni Kenshin, the manga that Ichigo mentioned. I'll try to make up some new sword techniques, and where I borrow from Watsuki, one of the greatest sword manga writers, I'll give him full credit.

Second, I revealed two Bankai in this chapter and I'll try to refrain from falling back on Bankai in the future. I just thought it was fun doing Momo and Shunsui.

Third, I got the idea of Ichigo tormenting Aizen over being bullied at school from a Blackadder episode, "Chains", where a master of disguise plots to take over England, and his megalomania originated from childhood bullying. I thought it would be fun to see Aizen like that.

Finally, I developed the idea that Momo would kill Aizen as a form of poetic justice. He did try to kill her and his betrayal left her in the pit of despair. This also gave her the push she needed to get over him and get on with her life.


End file.
